Lorenzo Salgado Araujo shot and killed by ICE agent in Houston, authorities confirm: Live updates

ByABC13 Digital Team KTRK logo
Last updated: Wednesday, July 15, 2026 7:44PM GMT
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HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- Several investigations are underway after an ICE agent fatally shot a man in Houston's Magnolia Park on Tuesday, July 7, authorities said.

Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, 52, was a Mexican national who allegedly attempted to evade arrest, rammed his car into a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement vehicle, and refused commands to stop, according to the Department of Homeland Security.

The agency also said Salgado Araujo tried to run over an agent, leading to the officer firing his weapon in what ICE claims is self-defense. ICE states that Salgado Araujo was hit and was taken to the hospital, where he died.

Salgado Araujo's family disputes DHS's claims and said that if the father of three U.S. citizens had known the men in the unmarked vehicles were ICE officers, he would have fully complied.

Eyewitness News is bringing you live updates as this story develops.

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Key Headlines

Here's how the news is developing.
Daniela Hurtado Image
Jul 15, 2026, 7:29 PM GMT

FBI says there could be drugs in van involved in deadly ICE shooting, warrant states

The Federal Bureau of Investigation filed a search warrant to look through the van that was part of a deadly shooting involving a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent, records show.

This comes as authorities said they saw "white crystal-like substance packaged in small plastic bags," from outside of the van, according to documents.

The search warrant, which was filed July 14, states that "searches of the target vehicle will yield evidence of the crimes committed and violations of drug offenses."

As the investigation continues into the deadly shooting, in the warrant the FBI said that the Department of Homeland Security told them ICE agents were trying to conduct a traffic stop on the "target vehicle," but it refused to stop and drove over a median in an attempt to flee.

"Pursuant to ICE policy, the officers did not pursue the vehicle. The officers relocated the vehicle in the 6800 block of Canal Street," the warrant states.

However, videos obtained by ABC13 showed two unmarked vehicles following the van on Wayside at Navigation, then turning onto Canal Street.

Following the deadly shooting, an FBI special agent says he "inspected the vehicle and observed in plain view several plastic bags with what appeared to be white crystal-like substances packaged in small plastic bags," according to the warrant.

The FBI states that the bags were found in the middle of the dash, between the driver and passenger side of the vehicle, as well as on the passenger floorboard, and that "the packaging and appearance of the controlled substance in the target vehicle is consistent with methamphetamine."

Jul 15, 2026, 1:20 PM GMT

Trump: ICE should continue traffic stops after recent shootings, seeming to contradict new policy

President Donald Trump says Immigration and Customs Enforcement should continue traffic stops after recent fatal shootings.

President Donald Trump says Immigration and Customs Enforcement should continue traffic stops after recent fatal shootings, seeming to contradict a new policy to halt them.

Trump wrote early Wednesday on his social media site ICE is "doing a GREAT job, one that has to be done."

The Republican president says to remove criminals he says were let into the country under the previous Democratic administration "we must be strong, tough and smart and we CANNOT give up one of ICE's most important and effective Crime Fighting tools, THE TRAFFIC STOP!" Trump says, "Once we do, we are playing right into the criminal's hands."

The policy change came after an ICE officer shot and killed a Colombian driver Monday in Maine and a week after one shot and killed a motorist in Houston, renewing criticism of the agency's enforcement tactics that were widely condemned last winter after the killings of Alex Pretti and Renee Good in Minnesota.

In Florida on Tuesday, a third man in roughly a week died during an encounter with immigration officers. This time, a 28-year-old man was killed after he was hit by a tractor trailer while running from immigration and other federal officers, authorities said.

Read full story.

KTRK logo
Jul 15, 2026, 1:16 PM GMT

DHS says ICE will ensure agents use bodycams in the wake of shootings in Texas, Maine

Following two deadly shootings involving Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in Texas and Maine, the Department of Homeland Security is now stating that ICE will ensure each "arrest team has an individual body camera."

This comes after it was reported that the agents involved in the shootings that killed 52-year-old Lorenzo Salgado Araujo and 26-year-old Joan Sebastian Guerrero were not wearing body cameras.

"Ensuring all of our ICE law enforcement officers have body cameras nationwide is a top priority for DHS-especially given the increase in attacks against our law enforcement, including a more than 1,300% increase in assaults against them and a 3,300% increase in vehicle attacks," according to a DHS spokesperson.

In addition, ICE has also been told to pause most vehicle stops in the days following the shootings, according to sources.

Read full story here.

Jessica Willey Image
Jul 15, 2026, 12:58 PM GMT

Mayor Whitmire, HPD chief ask Texas Rangers for independent investigation into deadly ICE shooting

Houston Mayor John Whitmire and HPD chief ask Texas Rangers to conduct an independent investigation into the deadly ICE shooting.

One week after 52-year-old Lorenzo Salgado Araujo was shot and killed during an ICE operation in Houston's East End, dozens of residents packed Houston City Hall to demand an independent investigation and greater accountability from local leaders.

The latest development came Tuesday evening, when Houston Police Chief J. Noe Diaz Jr. sent a letter to Texas Department of Public Safety Director Freeman Martin requesting that the Texas Rangers conduct their own investigation into the shooting. In the letter, Diaz said he and Mayor John Whitmire believe a Texas Rangers investigation would help ensure the case is handled independently and transparently.

Earlier, residents, activists, and many others pleaded with city leaders to continue pursuing a local investigation.

"It's deeply disturbing that the City of Houston has not taken a stronger stand against ICE," one speaker told City Council.

Read the full story here.