He Was Driving to Work. Another person, shot and killed by ICE.
ICE shot and killed Lorenzo Salgado Araujo in Houston. His son says he would have complied. The photos show a van without damage. We are done taking their word for it.
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TL;DR
On Tuesday morning, an ICE officer shot and killed Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, a 52-year-old father of three, in Houston’s Magnolia Park neighborhood while he was driving workers to a construction job. ICE says he “weaponized his vehicle.”
His family says he lived in Houston for 35 years and would have complied with any lawful stop, and witness photos reviewed by LULAC (League of United Latin American Citizens) appear to show a van with no visible damage.
This is at least the eighth death in this administration’s immigration enforcement campaign, and in case after case, video has later contradicted the government’s first story.
And to make matters worse, the three eyewitnesses who were in Lorenzo’s van, including his brother, are now in ICE custody at an undisclosed location, and his family fears they will be deported before they can even testify.
You can sign the petition, support his family, and demand an independent investigation right now. (We have also added these links to our Linktree in our bio for easier access if you can’t find this email/article)
Picture this: it’s your normal Tuesday morning
It’s 6:50 a.m. and the sun has been up for barely half an hour.
You’re doing what you do every workday, driving your van through the neighborhood, picking up your crew, and heading to work. You’ve completed the same drive for years. You have lived in this city for 35 years and you built a construction business from nothing but hard work and early mornings.
Then unmarked SUVs close in around your van.
And the men inside them are federal agents, but nothing about their vehicles says so. Within minutes, you’re shot.
Your brother is in the van too, and one of your sons will learn what happened on this very street.
That’s the story of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo’s last morning.
He died on the way to the hospital.
The Department of Homeland Security put out their side of the story within hours.
According to the agency’s statement, officers attempted a vehicle stop as part of a targeted enforcement operation, and Lorenzo rammed an ICE vehicle, refused verbal commands, and “weaponized his vehicle” against an officer, who fired in self-defense.
A statement written by the agency whose officer pulled the trigger.
Notice what the statement does NOT include: ANY evidence.
No body camera footage has been released.
No dash camera video.
No dispatch logs.
No photos of the damage his van supposedly caused.
Thirty-five years of 6 a.m. mornings
Lorenzo’s son Ronaldo, a teacher, stood in front of cameras on Wednesday and told the world who his father was.
Ronaldo described his dad as a man of unbreakable routine. He was up before sunrise every day, out the door around 6 a.m., building homes in North Houston. Evenings usually meant sitting the front porch and listening to music with his dog right beside him.
Ronaldo said his father had lived in Houston for 35 years and was working through the legal process to obtain a work permit. On Tuesday morning, Lorenzo picked up three men for work, including his own brother, when agents in unmarked vehicles stopped him.
His son’s answer to ICE’s story was simple: “my father would have complied.”
A man who spent 35 years showing up on time doesn’t wake up one Tuesday and decide to fight the federal government with a work van.
We wrote an entire post about how ICE now hides in plain sight. This is not normal! Armed men in civilian SUVs box in your van, “fleeing law enforcement” and “trying to escape what looks like a carjacking” can be indistinguishable from the driver’s seat.
Let’s talk about the van.
LULAC leaders reviewed photos and videos taken by witnesses at the scene.
Domingo Garcia, LULAC’s national president, said the images appear to show no visible damage to Lorenzo’s van. His challenge to the government: “If their people are innocent, prove it.”
If a van rammed a law enforcement vehicle hard enough to justify deadly force, the evidence should be sitting in plain view on both bumpers for us all to see.
LULAC has acknowledged it hasn’t seen all the evidence. Neither have we. The people who have the evidence are the same people whose story it would confirm or destroy, and they’re not releasing it.
LULAC is offering a $5,000 reward for footage and information.
The Texas Tribune is collecting tips and video through secure channels. Civil society is having to crowdsource the truth that the federal government is sitting on.
An important note: Lorenzo’s family has asked for privacy and has asked people not to circulate images of his final moments.
The witnesses have disappeared into ICE custody
Three men were in the van with Lorenzo when he was shot, including his own brother.
They saw everything.
They are the closest thing to civilian eyewitnesses of the shooting itself that we know of and ICE detained all three.
According to reporting by The Bulwark, their current whereabouts are unknown, the family and local advocates fear they will be deported before they can give testimony, and ICE didn’t respond when asked where the men are being held.
The only known eyewitnesses to this killing by federal agents are in the custody of the agency that did the killing, at a location that agency will not disclose.
Ronaldo told The Bulwark he hopes those men will get the chance to give statements about what they saw, he believes their accounts will show his father was afraid, not aggressive.
If the witnesses are deported before an independent investigator interviews them, their testimony effectively disappears.
We have been here before
Lorenzo’s death is at least the eighth during this administration’s immigration enforcement campaign, according to the Associated Press. And in case after case, the government’s first story fell apart the moment video surfaced.
Renee Good. ICE claimed the officer’s life was at risk from her moving vehicle. Video showed she was turning her wheels away from him when he opened fire.
Ruben Ray Martinez. DHS said he intentionally ran over an agent. The released footage doesn’t clearly show the vehicle striking anyone. He was 23.
Marimar Martinez. ICE alleged she tried to ram federal agents in Chicago. Video evidence showed otherwise, and the charges against her were dismissed.
In every fatal case so far: NO officers were charged!
LULAC CEO Juan Proaño told reporters that the federal government handed the public a story about Renee Good that collapsed when video came out, and that Houston is now being handed the SAME STORY in similar words.
And notice the timing. DHS has spent months on an image polish, telling reporters it wants operations to look more restrained and professional, while arrests surged past 10,000 in a single five-day stretch at the end of June.
The day before Lorenzo was killed, border czar Tom Homan acknowledged that about half the people ICE is targeting have no criminal record.
Who is investigating?
The FBI’s Houston field office confirmed it’s leading an investigation into a potential assault on a federal law enforcement officer.
The one killed is their suspect.
The shooting has been handed to the DHS Office of Inspector General, meaning the department that oversees ICE is examining ICE.
Houston police say they weren’t involved and the mayor’s office referred questions to Homeland Security.
Rep. Sylvia Garcia, who represents the neighborhood, is demanding a full and impartial investigation with all footage and communications preserved.
Rep. Christian Menefee, Harris County commissioners, FIEL Houston, and LULAC are all saying that local authorities, including the Houston Police Department and the Harris County District Attorney, need to be doing more.
Magnolia Park is not staying quiet, and neither should you
Within hours of the shooting, neighbors gathered on Canal Street with flowers and candles.
By Tuesday evening, protesters were chanting against ICE in the neighborhood and by Wednesday morning, Lorenzo’s son was at a podium with civil rights leaders, elected officials were on record demanding answers, and a national organization had put a cash reward out for information.
The government wanted this to be a one-day story. We need to get louder!
Here’s how you can help:
Sign LULAC’s petition demanding an independent investigation and the release of all evidence such as body camera footage, surveillance video, and witness statements. As I’m writing this, the petition has a total of 69,090 signatures. Lets show up for Lorenzo and get that over 100,000!
Help his family’s Gofundme if you can, (Currently at $109,554) organized by the LULAC Institute for Lorenzo’s wife and three sons, or share it if you can’t donate to help.
Call your representatives, especially if you live in Texas, and ask…
1) If they support an independent, local investigation into the killing of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo.
2) If they will demand that ICE disclose the location of the three witnesses in his van and guarantee they’re not deported before giving testimony.
Find your representatives at 5calls.org.
If you’re in Houston or know someone who is. Footage and firsthand accounts are what broke the government’s story in Minneapolis and Chicago. The Texas Tribune is taking tips securely via Signal and WhatsApp, and LULAC’s reward stands.
Help make his name travel further than their press release
His name was Lorenzo Salgado Araujo.
He was 52.
He built homes for other families for 35 years while building a life for his own.
He wanted to see his sons become great people, and then he wanted to sit on his porch with his dog and his music.
The government has a story about him and has not shown us any proof. We have a story about the government’s stories, and ours comes with exposing their track record.
Send this post to the person in your life who says “well, he must have done something.” Ask them, if ICE has the footage that proves their story, why haven’t we seen it?
Sources
Texas Tribune | Son of man killed by ICE agent calls for investigation
NBC News | Man fatally shot by ICE officer during traffic stop in Houston
Associated Press | Houston shooting marks at least the 8th fatality in US immigration sweeps
KPRC 2 Houston | Family demands answers after deadly ICE shooting
KPRC 2 Houston | Houston leaders, LULAC call for independent investigation
FOX 26 Houston | Press conference after death of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo
LULAC | Petition demanding a full, transparent investigation
GoFundMe | In Loving Memory of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo (organized by LULAC Institute)
I am heartbroken for the families involved, and absolutely devastated by Mr. Araujo’s murder at the hands of these murderous ICE thugs. I pray that his memory always be a blessing and a comfort for them, and I will demand that they get justice and retribution from the courts!
Enough!