Last week, Salgado, an undocumented man from Mexico who had lived in the United States for more than three decades, was shot and killed by an ICE agent during a traffic stop in Houston’s Magnolia Park neighborhood. ICE has claimed that Salgado attempted to ram agents with his van, but eyewitnesses and nearby security camera footage have cast doubt on the official account.
At a Friday concert in Camden, New Jersey, singer-songwriter Dave Matthews addressed Salgado’s killing in an impassioned speech. Fan footage of the concert that circulated online shows Matthews condemning violence in general.
“There are always reasons that we should kill each other. We tell our children to use their words, but then when they grow up they wonder what’s wrong with us,” Matthews says during a break in the show. “I don’t know why we lost our way. Maybe we’ve always been like this; we just got better at making things that can kill each other.”
Matthews then goes on to mention Salgado by name, becoming angry as he mentions that Salgado was not the target of the ICE operation that ultimately resulted in his death and the detentions of his three coworkers.
“Anyway, I wanted to say his name. I wrote it down, so I didn’t forget it. This young man, well, old man, but we’re all young,” Matthews said. “This father and grandfather who was murdered by ICE in Houston, Texas. Then they say he’s not even the guy they were looking for! Well then, don’t pull the trigger, you assholes!”
“So I just want to say, I’m sorry if that language offends his family or his friends or his community, but it just makes me mad,” Matthews continued. “Anyway, I want to send this to the memory of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, who was murdered a couple of days ago in Houston by ICE.”
The crowd in Camden can be heard cheering and clapping during Matthews’ speech, and the “Crash Into Me” singer began playing his unreleased protest song “All That I Wanted.” “All that I wanted was to have my fair share / the man had told me you stole it he’s a billionaire,” Matthews sings.
Matthews has a long history of political advocacy, having been a vocal supporter of former President Barack Obama and later Sen. Bernie Sanders in his presidential run. In October, Matthews will play at the Power to the People Festival at Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, Maryland, as part of a protest against President Donald Trump. In January, Matthews called out the Trump administration after ICE agents in Minneapolis shot and killed Renee Nicole Good.
“I don’t want my taxes to pay for ICE, to masked thugs to roam our streets and terrorize our communities and rip families apart,” Matthews said in a video uploaded to social media at the time. “We should be taking care of each other. We should be minding each other. We should be housing the homeless. We shouldn’t be, you know, throwing people to the ground.”
Salgado’s killing happened under similar circumstances to Good’s. Both were driving when ICE agents shot them, and ICE officials later claimed that both Good and Salgado attempted to “weaponize” their vehicles to harm ICE agents. Video released in the wake of Good’s killing showed Good trying to avoid the ICE agent, Jonathan Ross, who ultimately shot and killed her. While less video evidence has emerged around Salgado’s killing, subsequent video analysis has raised questions about the events leading up to his death.
The Harris County District Attorney’s Office said on Monday that it would treat its inquiry into Salgado’s killing as a criminal investigation. District Attorney Sean Teare cautioned that it may be years before his office reached any conclusions.
“In all likelihood, this will take many, many months—potentially years—before we finally get the answers that we all need,” Teare said Monday. “But we will not rest, and we cannot do it without the support of the public and the support of our commissioners.”