Mexico’s president is pushing for a criminal investigation after the Department of Homeland Security said the man fatally shot by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents on Tuesday was not the intended target.
ICE agents shot and killed Lorenzo Salgado Araujo on Tuesday morning during a traffic stop.
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The wrong target
The agency says agents stopped Salgado Araujo because he was driving a vehicle that matched the description of one linked to their actual target.
“After receiving a credible tip from our law enforcement partners, our officers conducted surveillance on a target’s address. Weeks prior to the incident, they noted two white vans at the property,” DHS said. “On July 7, officers were almost at the target’s address when they observed a white van with an individual who resembled the target. Officers then initiated the vehicle stop.”
Officials say Salgado Araujo then “weaponized his vehicle” and tried to run over an agent. An agent opened fire after the agency said Salgado Araujo ignored “multiple verbal commands.”
He was shot in the stomach and died hours later at a hospital.
No body camera or other video of the shooting has been released.
Ongoing and requested investigations
The DHS inspector general is investigating the shooting, while the FBI is probing whether Salgado Araujo assaulted a federal officer.
Meanwhile, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum says her government will seek a criminal investigation into the deaths of 17 Mexican nationals who have died in ICE custody or during Trump administration immigration enforcement operations, including Salgado Araujo.
She said Mexico cannot ignore those deaths, adding that many of those who died came to the United States to work.
Rep. Sylvia Garcia, the Harris County District Attorney, and an attorney for detained passengers will provide an update on Salgado Araujo’s death at 11 a.m. CT on Friday.
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