US Attorney for Texas gives new details of deadly Houston ICE shooting
U.S. Attorney Aaron Reitz statement regarding shooting, death of Lorenzo Salgado
U.S. Attorney Aaron Reitz provides a statement following the deadly ICE shooting in Houston that took the life of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo
HOUSTON - Aaron Reitz, the newly sworn US Attorney for the Southern District of Texas, is sharing new details on what led up to last week's fatal Houston shooting involving ICE officers.
Houston ICE shooting: New details from US Attorney
What they're saying:
In a statement, Reitz says the ICE officers were initially looking for "two Guatemalan men known to be driving a white van." The two men were "potentially subject to deportation" and have avoided being arrested in the past.
While looking for the suspects' van, ICE officers were told about a similar van in the area.
There was allegedly one other attempt to stop the van before the confrontation that led to the shooting death of 52-year-old Lorenzo Salgado Araujo.
During that initial attempt, Reitz says the ICE officers' two vehicles had police lights on while they tried to "pull over the van and the men that fit the suspects' description." The van allegedly did a U-turn and got on a median to get away, and the officers chose not to go after the van at that point.
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According to Reitz, ICE officers found the same van later that morning. The driver, previously identified as Araujo, allegedly tried to flee again, but the agents had surrounded the vehicle.
Two of the four ICE officers involved reportedly got out of their vehicles and told the driver to put the van in park. According to Reitz, however, the driver "shifted the van into reverse, then forward again, while an officer was partially inside the van or immediately next to it."
During a confrontation between the officers and the people in the van, Reitz says one of the officers fired one shot, which struck Araujo. Other officers provided first aid, but Araujo was pronounced deceased.
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Following the shooting, Reitz says investigators searched the van on Wednesday after officers saw "several small bags of a white, crystal-like substance inside the van."
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What we don't know:
The FBI and the Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General (DHS-OIG) are said to be leading the investigation.
A Texas DPS official says both national agencies have agreed to work with them in the investigation.
The Source: Statement from US Attorney Aaron Reitz and previous FOX 26 reporting.