HOUSTON – Texas Governor Greg Abbott has confirmed the Texas Rangers will conduct an investigation into the fatal shooting of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo by an ICE agent in Houston.
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The comments by the governor are the first public comments he has made about the matter since the shooting last week.
“Any loss of life is tragic. Everyone in Texas wants to ensure there’s no loss of life. And I do want y’all to know this, and that is there has been a meeting with the Texas Department of Public Safety, the Texas Rangers meeting with federal officials as well as with your local police department here in Houston and the Texas Rangers are now going to be involved in an investigation of this matter, working alongside federal officials to get to the bottom of exactly what happened,” Abbott said.
When asked if the investigation would be an independent one, Abbott assured it would be.
“Anytime the Texas Rangers are involved, they work independently, they’re well known not just in the State of Texas but elsewhere for their independence in conducting investigations,” Abbott said.
Abbott was also asked if the recent shooting, knowing now that Lorenzo Salgado Araujo was not the intended target, gives him any pause about how ICE operations are conducted in Texas.
“We don’t want to see people shot, period,” he said. “That’s separate from whether or not the immigration laws are going to be enforced. I fully expect our immigration laws to be enforced. But it’s proven the immigration laws can be enforced and stopping illegal immigration from coming across our border can be achieved without shooting people.”
Abbott’s comments come one day after Houston Police Chief J. Noe Diaz sent a letter to the director of the Texas Department of Public Safety requesting the Texas Rangers conduct their own independent investigation into the shooting.