<\/p>\n
Police Chief Noe Diaz, Mayor John Whitmire and U.S. Rep. Sylvia Garcia attend a news conference at Houston City Hall in Houston on Friday, July 10, 2026, regarding the officer-involved shooting of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo during a federal immigration enforcement operation and the detention of the two passengers who were in the vehicle with him.<\/p>\n
Raquel Natalicchio\/Houston Chronicle<\/p>\n
Harris County District Attorney Sean Teare, left, and County Commissioner Rodney Ellis speak to the media on an independent investigation by local authorities into the fatal shooting by ICE agents of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo during a news conference in Houston, Monday, July 13, 2026. Salgado was shot an killed during a federal immigration enforcement operation in Magnolia Park on July 7.<\/p>\n
Brett Coomer\/Houston Chronicle<\/p>\n
The District Attorney\u2019s Office and Houston Police Department have announced an independent probe<\/a> of federal immigration agents\u2019 fatal shooting of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo last week<\/a>, but neither immediately sent investigators to the scene \u2013 a break from past practice that experts said will hamper their attempts to review the incident.<\/p>\n Salgado\u2019s killing by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents during a traffic stop in Magnolia Park last Tuesday has roiled the city, with residents holding vigils<\/a> and protests and demanding<\/a> action from political leaders<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n The Department of Homeland Security is investigating the incident, but District Attorney Sean Teare said he has begun an independent probe. Houston Mayor John Whitmire \u2013 after initially saying the city lacked the jurisdiction to get involved \u2013 also has directed Houston police to support Teare\u2019s efforts<\/a> and to offer resources to federal authorities.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n READ MORE:\u00a0Whitmire tells HPD to offer resources for federal ICE shooting probe<\/a><\/p>\n Yet Houston police spokesperson Ericka Ramirez confirmed HPD sent only traffic control officers to the scene, not investigators, after an ICE agent fatally shot Salgado just before 7 a.m. in the 6800 block of Canal Street a week ago.<\/p>\n Ramirez explained the decision by saying federal authorities had claimed jurisdiction over the scene.\u00a0<\/p>\n But HPD homicide investigators historically responded immediately to all officer-involved shootings in the city, said Charles McClelland, who served as HPD chief from 2010 to 2016 and long worked in the department\u2019s homicide division.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n \u201cIt would not surprise me if somebody in the HPD chain said, \u2018nope, this is a federal shooting. We\u2019re not going to get involved in this political mess,\u2019\u201d said Jay Coons, a Sam Houston State University criminology professor. \u201cBut now that you\u2019re saying, \u2018We should probably do an investigation,\u2019 you should\u2019ve responded just like you would to any other shooting. And now you\u2019re playing catch-up.\u201d<\/p>\n READ MORE: Mayor Whitmire backs federal probe, says Houston won\u2019t launch separate ICE shooting investigation<\/a><\/p>\n An investigator and prosecutor from the District Attorney\u2019s office also typically respond immediately to any officer-involved shooting in Harris County, a Teare spokesperson said.<\/p>\n But they are always sent after a law enforcement agency calls to report the shooting, spokesperson Courtney Fischer said, and this is the first time anyone in the office can recall that no agency called.\u00a0<\/p>\n Prosecutors went to the scene Wednesday morning, she said, when they realized no agency was going to call them. Teare said at a Monday press conference that ICE\u2019s lack of transparency was \u201cunacceptable.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Shootings by federal agents are always complex for local police and prosecutors, because federal authorities can claim jurisdiction over the investigation, said Coons, who retired as a captain at the Harris County Sheriff\u2019s Office in 2018.\u00a0<\/p>\n But it\u2019s still important for local offices to dispatch their own investigators as quickly as possible\u00a0 to preserve the scene and gather evidence, he said. Doing so can often be the difference between making a prosecution and not being able to bring charges.<\/p>\n Some evidence, such as security cameras, deletes every 24 hours or so, he said, and other evidence is only collectable in the immediate aftermath of a shooting, such as shell casings.<\/p>\n A limited role<\/p>\n