HOUSTON – U.S. Rep. Sylvia Garcia says new interviews with two men who witnessed last week’s fatal ICE shooting of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo contradict the federal agency’s account. She is also expressing concern after another fatal ICE related shooting was reported Monday in Maine.
Garcia said she personally met Salgado Araujo’s brother, Victor Hugo Salgado Araujo, and Daniel Tirado Pantoja at the Montgomery County Processing Center, where they remain in ICE custody. Both men were part of Salgado Araujo’s construction crew that morning and either in the van or near it during the time of the fatal shooting. The third crew member, Jose Trinidad Pliego, chose not to talk without his attorney.
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“Their accounts are just totally different day and night from what ICE is telling the public,” Garcia said.
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Garcia emphasized she spoke with each man separately. She said both men independently described the same sequence of events.
“Both indicated to me that the agents never identified themselves, never issued any commands, never told them that there was any kind of warrant,” the congresswoman said.
The accounts, Garcia said, directly challenge ICE’s assertion that agents opened fire after Salgado Araujo allegedly tried to use his van as a weapon.
“At no time was an agent in front of the van,” she recalls being told. “So, this whole notion in the story that ICE has put out there that they weaponized the van and tried to run over an officer they both told me that their agents were never in front of them.”
Garcia also shared new details about where witnesses say the fatal shot originated.
“So, the other thing that they mentioned is that the shot did come from the passenger side through an open window.”
She said Salgado Araujo’s brother, Victor, who was sitting in the passenger seat, described seeing the gun just before the shot was fired.
“It was one shot and the other officers immediately pulled the passengers out of the vehicle, threw them to the ground and handcuffed them. And then when Mr. Salgado managed to get out of the car, because remember he was in a seatbelt, he managed to get out of the vehicle. And the minute he was getting out of the vehicle, he was stormed and thrown to the ground and a knee put on his body to hold him down,” Garcia said.
Garcia confirmed the FBI now has custody of the van, a key piece of evidence in the investigation.
She also said the acting ICE director has promised the detained witnesses will remain in the Houston area while the investigation continues. Salgado Araujo’s family and others were concerned the only witnesses could be moved or relocated.
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Garcia added that the attorney representing Salgado Araujo’s brother is working to allow him to attend funeral services.
“I know that the brother’s lawyer is trying to see about getting a pass for the brother to be able to attend the services this week.”
The congresswoman said she is continuing to gather records from local agencies to establish a detailed timeline following the shooting and believes ICE owes the family an apology.
“I am working on getting a timeline, both from Ben Taub, the Houston Fire Department, and the medical examiner’s office... ICE owes them an apology.”
Garcia again criticized ICE’s lack of body-worn cameras during the fatal shooting.
“They’ve got money for ballrooms, but they don’t have money for body cams. Give me a break.”
Still, she said the acting director has pledged to deploy them soon.
“Now, to his credit, the ICE director did commit to me that he would purchase and have in the field by the end of this month body cam cameras. We’re going to hold them to it.”
Garcia also pointed to another fatal ICE-related shooting reported Monday in Maine, saying it reflects broader concerns about the agency’s operations.
“I’m just shocked that here we are, you know, just one week later. I mean the incident here in Houston was last Tuesday. Here we are Monday and now we’re hearing of another ICE related fatal shooting in Maine. I don’t have all the details, but I’m just horrified.”
The latest interview comes days after Houston Mayor John Whitmire called the shooting one of the most troubling law enforcement incidents he has seen in decades and joined Garcia in demanding an independent investigation. City leaders have stressed that Houston police were not involved in the operation and that the FBI controls the evidence, including the van and witness interviews.