Records allege DPS tipped ICE before deadly shooting; DPS says document is 'incorrect'

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- New publicly available documents reveal what federal ICE agents said happened the morning of July's fatal shooting of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo.

On July 7, a federal agent opened fire on the white van that Salgado Araujo was driving, killing him. Three other people in the white van were detained. After the shooting, ICE reported that Salgado Araujo was not the target of the enforcement operation that was being carried out.

ABC13's Daniela Hurtado went to the federal courthouse Friday afternoon and obtained physical copies of the documents from the clerk's public document portal.

The documents are accounts by ICE agents of what happened on the morning of July 7 and were filed on Aug. 11. Portions of the documents were redacted.

Most of the documents retell what has been previously reported, including that ICE claimed that Salgado Araujo tried to run over agents before he was shot and killed. Witnesses have said that Salgado Araujo and the other occupants of the van did not try to run anyone over.

ICE also previously reported that a law enforcement agency tipped them off about a white van, but did not reveal which agency it was. The documents allege that the team behind the immigration enforcement operation had "previously received intel from DPS Troopers" about two subjects in a white van.

The documents have sparked contradictory statements from law enforcement agencies.

ABC13 reached out to the Texas Department of Public Safety, which denied helping ICE in the operation. Their full statement reads:

"The document is incorrect."

"Just as we first stated back in July, when asked if the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) had provided any tip information related to this incident, DPS did not provide any information of any sort to ICE related to the location where the OIS occurred, any vehicles, other individuals or Mr. Lorenzo Salgado Araujo."

"We would refer you to DHS for confirmation that the tip did not originate from DPS personnel before reporting this false information."

The documents go on to provide an account of the pursuits that occurred before Salgado Araujo's van was stopped and mirror U.S. Attorney Aaron Reitz's account of the incident, including that federal agents mistakenly chased Salgado Araujo's van through Magnolia Park after confusing him with another subject.

When reaching out to Reitz for comment, he told ABC13 in part that the documents were "protected, limited-access filings. And they were supposed to stay that way."

ABC13 has reached out to DHS and ICE for a statement and is waiting for a response.