Texas DA says substance in ICE shooting van not drugs

Texas officials confirmed on Friday, July 24, 2026, that a substance found in the work van of a man fatally shot by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent earlier this month was not an illegal narcotic, contradicting initial federal claims. Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, a 51-year-old construction worker and father of three, was killed during a vehicle stop in Houston on July 7.

The Harris County District Attorney’s Office stated that laboratory testing confirmed the substance tested negative for narcotics. The office said it had notified Salgado Araujo’s family of the results. Initial reports from the FBI, filed in a search warrant affidavit on July 14, had suggested that small plastic bags containing a white crystal-like substance visible in the van were consistent with methamphetamine.

According to the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE, Salgado Araujo was not the intended target of a deportation operation in the area. Officials said agents targeted his white cargo van because it matched a vehicle description associated with their operation. DHS has stated that Salgado Araujo failed to obey commands to stop, instead putting the vehicle in reverse and...