A Texas prosecutor revealed striking new details this week in the fatal shooting of a Houston father by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent, marking an escalation in his office’s unprecedented criminal investigation into a federal immigration agency. Harris County District Attorney Sean Teare disclosed multiple troubling developments that challenge the federal government’s account and raise serious questions about ICE’s tactics and the evidence being used to justify the deadly force.
The case centers on Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, a 52-year-old Mexican immigrant who was shot on July 7 while driving a work van with three other men toward a construction site. ICE agents had stopped his vehicle during what federal authorities called a “targeted enforcement operation” in Houston’s East End. The agency initially claimed that Salgado Araujo, whom they said was in the country illegally, weaponized his van and attempted to run over an agent, prompting the shooting in what they termed self-defense. He died at Ben Taub Hospital from a gunshot wound to the torso.
But Teare told CBS News this week that his office is “more than prepared” to file criminal charges against the ICE agents involved if evidence supports such action. His investigation is examining possible crimes including murder, criminally negligent homicide, and tampering with evidence.
The prosecutor’s office has issued dozens of subpoenas and is treating the case like a criminal investigation designed to identify suspects who do not want to be found. Teare emphasized that the conduct of the agents “in no way resemble” actions and training he has witnessed in his long career in law enforcement. He stated it “appears from everything we’ve seen that either these agents are completely untrained, or intentionally putting themselves in situations where they can justify firing into cars.”
One of the most striking revelations came when Teare publicly disputed an FBI warrant application filed last week. The FBI alleged that investigators found small plastic bags containing a white crystal-like substance in the van that they believed could be methamphetamine. Teare told CNN he doubted these claims, citing information his team has gathered but not yet released publicly.
Salgado Araujo’s brother’s attorney, Ruby Powers, went further, stating that what the FBI suspected to be drugs was actually granulated salt. She explained that construction workers in extreme Texas heat mix the salt with lemon and water as a homemade electrolyte to stay hydrated during long workdays. Powers called on the FBI to expedite testing “so their names can be cleared” but added that regardless of what results showed, deadly force was still unjustifiable.
Teare emphasized that the substance’s nature has no bearing on whether the initial stop was warranted or whether the shooting was justified. He said the drugs allegation is irrelevant to the central question of whether ICE agents acted appropriately.
The prosecutor has also clashed with federal authorities over another fundamental fact: the identity of the agents involved. A week after the shooting, Teare said his office still did not know the names of any ICE agents present at the scene. He called this lack of cooperation “unacceptable and unprecedented,” even in routine interactions with federal partners. The Department of Homeland Security declined to release the agent’s name, citing violence and threats against ICE personnel.
Witnesses to the shooting have challenged the federal government’s account. The three men who were riding in Salgado Araujo’s van—including his brother—told their attorneys that ICE vehicles actually rammed the van and that no officers were ever in danger of being run over. The men said officers approached from the side, not the front or back. Teare’s office has filed paperwork to help these witnesses obtain U visas, which would protect them from deportation while they assist the investigation. He called them “the three eyewitnesses to this shooting” and emphasized that “there are not many things that are more important in this investigation than their recollections.”
Earlier this week, the Harris County Medical Examiner ruled Salgado Araujo’s death a homicide, a classification that describes the manner of death medically rather than determining criminal liability. The ruling came after weeks of federal investigations by the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector General and the FBI.
The independent investigation by Harris County is facing significant obstacles. Teare acknowledged that local prosecutors have far less access to evidence than they typically enjoy in officer-involved shootings. ICE agents were not wearing body cameras at the time. While Teare said investigators have collected surveillance video from local businesses and are pursuing additional evidence, he cautioned that the investigation will likely take “many, many months—potentially years” before reaching conclusions.
Teare announced his office is working with local commissioners to fund a comprehensive investigation separate from federal efforts. He said his team has consulted with prosecutors in Minneapolis, where federal immigration agents killed two U.S. citizens earlier this year in separate incidents. County Commissioner Rodney Ellis pledged Harris County’s financial support for the investigation, emphasizing the county’s commitment to transparency and accountability.
Salgado Araujo had lived and worked in Houston for nearly 35 years building homes and starting his own construction business. He had no criminal record. His family said he was in the final stages of obtaining legal status through his U.S. citizen children. Federal officials later confirmed that neither Salgado Araujo nor his brother were the intended targets of the operation that day.