What Happened
On the morning of July 7, 2026, Salgado Araujo, 52, was driving a van of coworkers to a construction job in Houston’s Magnolia Park neighborhood when ICE agents in two unmarked SUVs pursued his vehicle. An agent shot him in the abdomen around 6:50 a.m. Witnesses told the New York Times he was shot through the open passenger window as he was trying to park. ICE later said agents had mistaken him, or his van, for a different suspect they’d been surveilling nearby. He was not their intended target.
Salgado Araujo was taken to Ben Taub Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Three coworkers in the van, including his brother Victor Salgado, were taken into ICE custody. One, Jose Trinidad Rojas Pliego, was released on July 29 after a federal judge granted his habeas petition; Victor and a third passenger, Daniel Tirado Pantoja, remain in custody as their own petitions move through court.
“He did not deserve to die.”Ronaldo SalgadoLorenzo’s Son
DHS’s Account vs. the Evidence
DHS said Salgado Araujo evaded the stop, rammed an ICE vehicle, and tried to run over an agent, and that the officer fired in self-defense. His family and coworkers dispute that account. Victor Salgado has alleged agents rammed the van before the shooting, not after. The agents involved were not wearing body cameras that morning.
The shooting is now the subject of four separate investigations — by the Harris County District Attorney’s Office, the FBI, the Texas Rangers, and DHS’s own Office of Inspector General. On Aug. 6, Harris County commissioners approved $2.5 million to fund the DA’s independent probe. Local officials say federal investigators have denied them access to evidence.
