HOUSTON, TEXAS – JULY 09: A person places flowers at the site where Mexican immigrant Lorenzo Salgado Araujo was killed on July 09, 2026 in Houston, Texas. An Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer fatally shot Mexican immigrant Lorenzo Salgado Araujo during an attempted traffic stop arrest on Tuesday. The shooting marks the first fatal use of force by federal immigration officers since the deaths of Renée Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis earlier this year. (Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images)
Brandon Bell/Getty Images
The only surviving witnesses to Tuesday’s deadly ICE shooting are now in federal custody, leaving many of the key questions surrounding the encounter largely in the hands of federal investigators.
The three men who were inside the van are now disputing the Department of Homeland Security’s account of the shooting. In interviews conducted from immigration detention and first reported by The Washington Post, the men reportedly told their attorney, Hugo Balderas-Ibarra, that the driver never attempted to run over ICE agents and that officers began shooting from the side of the vehicle almost immediately after exiting their cars.
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“All of them reiterated that there were never any ICE agents in front of the van,” Balderas-Ibarra told The Washington Post. “They came in and started shooting from the sides.”
DHS previously said Salgado, 42, rammed an ICE vehicle and “weaponized” his work van “in an attempt to run over an ICE law enforcement officer.” Federal officials have said an agent opened fire in self-defense.
A man walks past a makeshift memorial for Lorenzo Salgado Araujo Wednesday, July 8, 2026, in Houston. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
David J. Phillip/Associated Press
Ronaldo Salgado and Lorenzo Jr., sons of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, hold a photograph of their father during a news conference Wednesday, July 8, 2026, in Houston. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
David J. Phillip/Associated Press
Jose Trinidad Rojas, 51, one of the men inside the van, disputed that account in a handwritten statement shared with The Washington Post.
“That is a lie,” Rojas wrote. “It is impossible for them to say that they were going to get run over … there were no officers in front of or behind the vehicle. They were on the sides.”
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The three surviving men, including Salgado’s brother and longtime employees Jose Trinidad Rojas and Daniel Tirado Pantoja, remain in federal immigration custody while removal proceedings move forward.
Chron has reached out to the Department of Homeland Security to clarify whether the men are being held solely for immigration proceedings, are considered witnesses, are under criminal investigation, or some combination thereof.
Houston police step aside from investigation
On Friday, the Mayor’s Office released letters from Houston Police Chief J. Noe Diaz to the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector General and the FBI confirming Houston police will defer the investigation to federal authorities while offering the department’s full cooperation.
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“HPD recognizes the seriousness of the matter and supports a thorough investigation,” Diaz wrote. “We understand federal law states local law enforcement has no independent jurisdiction to investigate federal agencies or federal law enforcement personnel who are acting in the course and scope of their official duties.”
Neighbors cheer as marchers walk past during a vigil for Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, a Mexican national fatally shot by a federal immigration agent a day prior, Wednesday, July 8, 2026, in Houston. (AP Photo/Mark Felix)
Mark Felix/Associated Press
“At the direction of Mayor [John] Whitmire, I will make all appropriate resources available to support DHS-OIG and FBI Houston Division in their efforts to ensure this investigation is conducted in a timely, transparent, and thorough manner,” Diaz added.
Harris County DA weighs next steps
Officials and attorneys gathered Friday to demand answers in the deadly ICE shooting of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, with U.S. Rep. Sylvia Garcia, Harris County District Attorney Sean Teare, attorney Hugo Balderas-Ibarra, who represents two of the employees: Jose Trinidad Rojas and Daniel Tirado Pantoja, and U.S. Rep. Al Green outlining new concerns about the investigation and the three detained witnesses at the center of the case.
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Attorney Hugo Balderas-Ibarra said he met with the three detainees Thursday morning at the Montgomery County Processing Center in Conroe.
He said one of his clients lost his brother in the shooting, while the other two lost a close friend and longtime employer.
During his remarks, Balderas noted his clients remain traumatized by the shooting and urged federal authorities not to deport them while the investigation is ongoing.
“I believe that, given the magnitude of this case and the implications that it carries, my clients may be pressured into signing documentation for their voluntary departure,” Balderas said. “It would be devastating not only to them, but to everybody involved. I think it is extremely important that we preserve the integrity of this investigation.”
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Balderas also renewed his call for an independent investigation, saying all three men have consistently disputed the Department of Homeland Security’s account that the driver attempted to use the van as a weapon against ICE agents.
“All three of my clients reiterated that at no point was there ever an agent standing in front of the vehicle, nor was an agent ever placed in the line of danger,” Balderas said. “That is simply false, and I believe my clients are telling the truth.”
He concluded by reiterating how his office is now working to prevent the men from being deported while the investigation continues, arguing they are the only firsthand civilian witnesses to the shooting.
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“My office is working diligently to get these men released for the integrity of this investigation, because we know that ICE has a pattern as well of deporting immigrants before they can be heard, before they are given their due process,” Balderas said.