Man who was killed by ICE in Texas never ‘weaponized’ his vehicle, witnesses say

Witnesses are strongly disputing the official account of events surrounding the fatal shooting of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials in Houston, Texas. The three men who were in the van with Salgado deny that he "weaponized" his vehicle against ICE agents, a claim promoted by the Trump administration.

According to their lawyer, Hugo Balderas-Ibarra, the men stated that no ICE official was positioned in front of the van and that the shots that killed Salgado originated from the "sides" of the vehicle. These claims directly contradict the Department of Homeland Security's assertion that Salgado attempted to hit an ICE officer, prompting the officer to fire in self-defense.

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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

The incident, which occurred during what ICE described as a "targeted enforcement operation," has drawn scrutiny, particularly as ICE officers involved were not equipped with body cameras, and their vehicles lacked dash-cams. This absence of recording equipment hinders independent verification of the events.

Salgado, who had resided in the U.S. for nearly 35 years and had no criminal history, was killed in the early hours of Tuesday morning while en route to work. The shooting is the latest in a series of controversial incidents involving federal immigration officials amid the current administration's intensified anti-immigrant policies. The Harris County District Attorney's office has launched an investigation into the shooting.

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Dangerous criminals – whether they be illegal aliens or US citizens – are assaulting law enforcement and turning their vehicles into weapons to attack law enforcement.