Three men who say they witnessed the shooting said through their attorney that ICE’s account of what happened to Lorenzo Salgado Araujo is 'false'Show Caption
Three men who say they witnessed the fatal shooting of a Mexican national by an agent with U.S. Immigration Customs and Enforcement are speaking out about what they saw, saying that the agency's account of what happened "is simply false."Jose Trinidad Rojas, Daniel Tirado Pantoja and Victor Salgado said on Friday, July 10, that they witnessed the fatal shooting in Houston of their co-worker, Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, on July 7. Salgado and Salgado Araujo also are brothers.After the shooting, immigration officials said that they targeted Salgado Araujo after mistaking the 52-year-old for someone else. They said an agent fatally shot him when he attempted to "weaponize his vehicle" against the agent.But Rojas, Tirado and Salgado say that's wrong. Contrary to ICE’s description, no ICE agent was ever in front of Salgado Araujo’s white van, said the men's attorney, Hugo Balderas-Ibarra, at a news conference Friday."I can tell you with conviction that my clients’ version of the events are extremely different from what ICE agents are saying," Balderas-Ibarra told reporters. "All three of my clients reiterated that at no point was there ever an agent standing in front of the vehicle, nor was an agent ever placed in the line of danger." Balderas-Ibarra added: "That is simply false."The agent fired upon Salgado Araujo from the side of the van, Balderas-Ibarra said, citing his clients.USA TODAY has reached out to the Department of Homeland Security for comment in response to the accounts shared by Balderas-Ibarra and whether the agent behind the shooting remains on active duty.There has been no clear video of the shooting. According to U.S. Rep. Sylvia Garcia, D-Texas, the agents involved were not wearing body cameras and their vehicles did not have dashboard cameras.In previous statements, an ICE spokesperson said Salgado Araujo "refused to follow multiple verbal commands, and weaponized his vehicle in an attempt to run over an ICE law enforcement officer.""In an effort to protect himself, his fellow officers, and the general public, the officer discharged his weapon in self-defense," they said.Balderas-Ibarra and many others have criticized the statement as eerily similar to what the agency said following other shootings, including that of Renee Good in Minneapolis in January and Marimar Martinez in Chicago in October 2025.The Houston-based attorney says he fears his clients will be forced into signing deportation papers in an effort to keep them from testifying in court about what happened. "Given the magnitude of this case and the implications that it carries, my clients may be pressured into signing documentation to sign for their voluntary departure," said Balderas-Ibarra, noting a tactic reported at ICE facilities nationwide. "It is extremely important that we preserve the integrity of this investigation. That will all be out the window if they are deported."Salgado Araujo’s family has also called for the release of the three men. The trio’s story, the family believes, might be the only way to get at the truth of what happened. ICE has said that the agency’s inspector general is investigating the shooting and that the FBI officials in Houston are investigating "the potential assault on a federal law enforcement officer."The testimony of the three men in ICE custody in Texas shared by their lawyer comes as Houston Mayor John Whitmore called for an independent probe into the shooting."I was chairman of criminal justice in Austin for 30 years, involved in many investigations and oversight reviews of police action," Whitmore said Friday. "None are more egregious than the one that ICE brought to Houston Tuesday morning some 80 hours ago."He continued to say that Salgado Araujo "was chased by an unmarked vehicle before he could identify himself and speak as a Houstonian ... He was shot and killed."Whitmore promised to bring the full force of the city's investigative powers to the case.
