Prosecutor reveals ICE agents pursued wrong van in Houston shooting
An ICE officer shot and killed Lorenzo Salgado Araujo during a traffic stop in Houston, Texas, according to NBC News. ICE officials said the driver failed to stop and that the officer acted in self-defense after the van allegedly rammed agents, a version echoed by the Department of Homeland Security and reported by the BBC. The incident was the tenth fatal shooting by ICE officers since President Trump began his second term, noted by The Guardian. Family members, civil-rights groups such as LULAC and Texas Rep. Sylvia Garcia called for an independent investigation, and the Harris County medical examiner later classified the death as a homicide, as reported by Click2Houston and AP News.
The shooting prompted protests, diplomatic complaints from Mexico and a public wake that drew hundreds of mourners, according to NBC News. Most recently, a Texas U. S. attorney revealed that agents were attempting to stop a van they believed matched a deportation target, contradicting earlier statements that Salgado Araujo had struck an ICE vehicle before being shot, as detailed in an AP News report. A federal search warrant later described bags of a white crystal-like substance consistent with methamphetamine found in the van, according to Click2Houston.