(HOUSTON, TEXAS) — Three men arrested after federal immigration agents fatally shot Lorenzo Salgado Araujo in Houston, Texas, said the agents opened fire into their vehicle without warning and never faced an attempt to ram them.

The witnesses gave identical accounts in separate interviews, saying agents stood beside the vehicle rather than in front of it when they fired. Their testimony directly contradicts the Department of Homeland Security’s claim that Salgado Araujo drove toward an agent during an attempted arrest.

The lawyer for two of the arrested men said the witnesses “said agents fired into the vehicle unprovoked.” The attorney called the DHS account “completely false,” while one witness described it as “a lie.”

The Incident

Salgado Araujo, 52, was fatally shot during a traffic stop in east Houston on Tuesday morning, July 8, 2026. The three men traveling with him were arrested during the immigration operation.

Federal agents had not intended to arrest Salgado Araujo, officials said. They believed a passenger in the vehicle resembled a suspect.

Conflicting Accounts

The conflicting accounts center on what happened moments before the shooting. DHS says Salgado Araujo tried to ram a federal agent with his vehicle and that the encounter escalated after he refused to stop. The witnesses said he never drove toward the agents.

Their accounts also differ over the agents’ positions. The men said agents were on the side of the vehicle when they opened fire, not directly in its path. Each witness gave the same description despite being questioned separately.

Victim’s Background

Salgado Araujo had worked for 35 years to send his three American citizen sons to college. He was also pursuing legal status in the United States.

Calls for Investigation

Rep. Sylvia Garcia held a news conference and said Salgado Araujo “was not the person federal officials were looking for.” Family members and local officials have demanded a full independent investigation into the shooting and the arrests.

The attorney representing two witnesses also called for an independent probe, saying the federal account could not be reconciled with what the men described. The witnesses’ statements have placed the justification for the shooting at the center of the dispute.

Broader Implications

The case has drawn attention beyond Houston. Mexico announced that it would pursue criminal and civil action in the United States over the deaths of Mexican nationals in Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody, citing 17 such deaths in enforcement operations.

The Houston shooting marks at least the sixth deadly ICE shooting in recent months. The number has added pressure from family members and local officials for an investigation separate from the agencies involved in the immigration operation.

Salgado Araujo’s family is seeking an accounting of why agents opened fire on a vehicle carrying a man who was not their intended target. The three arrested men remain central witnesses to that account, having described the shooting in matching terms: agents stood beside the vehicle, and no ramming attempt occurred.