Houston ICE shooting witnesses say driver was unarmed

Three passengers in a van have directly contradicted the official account of a fatal shooting by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer in Houston this week, stating the driver was shot without provocation and that no officer was ever in danger. Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, a 52-year-old Mexican national and longtime Houston resident, was killed during an attempted vehicle stop on Tuesday, July 7, 2026.

According to a statement from ICE, Salgado Araujo rammed a law enforcement vehicle, ignored verbal commands, and "weaponized his vehicle in an attempt to run over an ICE law enforcement officer," prompting an officer to fire in self-defense. However, attorney Hugo Balderas-Ibarra, who has spoken with the three detained passengers, said their accounts unanimously dispute this narrative. The passengers-identified as Jose Trinidad Rojas, Daniel Tirado Pantoja, and Victor Salgado, the victim's brother-say they were on their way to a construction site around 6:30 a.m. when they noticed an unmarked vehicle following them.

The men stated that after Salgado Araujo made a U-turn, the unmarked vehicle activated police lights. They claim the van was moving slowly, at about 5 miles per...