Agents remain unidentified in deadly ICE Houston shooting

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- Some county commissioners are pushing for dedicated funding for the district attorney's office to support the investigation into an ICE officer who killed a Houstonian.

Six days ago, the Department of Homeland Security said Lorenzo Salgado Araujo was shot and killed by an ICE agent on Canal Street in Magnolia Park after they say he tried to run over an ICE agent with his van.

Witnesses say it isn't true.

The Harris County District Attorney's Office has launched an independent investigation into the deadly shooting as they work to figure out what exactly happened.

Every day, ABC13 sends questions to DHS, hoping to gain more clarity on the investigation into the death of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo.

And so far, they have not answered our questions, and the public pressure is growing as people in this community demand answers and transparency about how this happened.

On Friday, Congresswoman Sylvia Garcia said she learned through the acting ICE Director that the agents involved in the deadly ICE traffic stop on Tuesday were reassigned out of Houston, but no one from DHS has confirmed what the agents' job status is pending the investigation.

The attorney representing two of the three witnesses, the men who were detained and taken into immigration detention, says agents were never in front of the van, only on the side. They claim Salgado was parked when the ICE agent put their arm inside the passenger side window and shot him.

The district attorney's office says they're independently investigating the deadly shooting at the hands of ICE agents.

They say so far the federal agency is not collaborating with their office.

"We are conducting an investigation and going down every avenue we can to identify the agents involved in this shooting. We're almost a week in, and no one on the state level knows who they were or where they are right now. It's unacceptable, and something that does not happen," Harris County District Attorney Sean Teare said.

Teare says the investigation could take months, perhaps years.

He says his office will release all videos to the public when it can and after it has thoroughly investigated.

There were discussions at the county level about allocating more funding to the investigation.

Commissioner Lesley Briones sent the following statement that read in part:

"Our United States Constitution guarantees due process and equal protection to all. After a series of inconsistent statements and a lack of transparency from the federal government, we are taking action locally. The Harris County District Attorney's Office is best equipped to lead an independent local probe into the death of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, and I am proud to support dedicated funding for this investigation."

"Over the past week, I've heard from many Harris County residents on this issue. Their message, and my message, is clear: we demand full transparency and accountability. The Salgado family deserves the truth, and we will seek it."

All of it still needs to be discussed, but the DA says, in general, he would use the money for additional prosecutors and investigators.