Houston wake mourns Lorenzo Salgado Araujo after fatal ICE shooting
Hundreds gathered in Houston to remember the 52-year-old construction worker as officials face demands for answers over the traffic stop shooting.
By Frankie Delgado · News Reporter
4 min read
Hundreds of mourners came to a Houston funeral home to say goodbye to Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, the 52-year-old Mexican immigrant and father of three who was fatally shot by ICE agents during a traffic stop last week.
The public viewing was held at Forest Park Lawndale in the East End neighborhood, where Salgado Araujo lived. Many attendees wore blue at the family’s request, while volunteers from nongovernmental groups helped manage access and handed out water and refreshments.
The family barred cameras and cellphones from the service to protect its privacy. Police were posted at the entrance to the building during the ceremony.
María Guadalupe García, 57, a neighborhood resident who came to pay respects, told NBC News that Salgado Araujo was known locally as a hard worker who raised his children and gave people jobs. Another resident, who asked not to be named because of his immigration status, said Salgado Araujo “had a lot of life ahead of him.”
A chapel filled with music and memories
Inside the chapel, ranchera and Mexican music played as family and friends mourned. Juan Gabriel’s “Amor Eterno” was heard several times during the wake.
On a table near the service were items tied to Salgado Araujo’s life and work: a white safety helmet, a toolbox and jerseys for Mexico’s national soccer team, El Tri. Screens showed photos of him as relatives and friends sat on benches, some crying.
His son Ronaldo Salgado wrote on Facebook that the family was grateful for the support it had received. Ronaldo Salgado, 29, and his brother Lorenzo Salgado, 27, greeted visitors near the open coffin, according to NBC News.
César Espinosa, executive director of the immigrant rights group FIEL, said the viewing was painful but necessary. He said FIEL and more than 30 immigrant and worker rights organizations planned a large march in Houston on Sunday afternoon to keep attention on the case.
The shooting and the official accounts
Salgado Araujo worked in construction and led a crew. On the morning of July 7, he was driving a van with three other people in Houston’s Magnolia Park neighborhood on the way to a job site, according to NBC News.
The Department of Homeland Security has said ICE agents were not originally looking for Salgado Araujo. DHS said agents tried to arrest him after the stop and that he was shot in the abdomen.
DHS has also said Salgado Araujo was in the country illegally and that he tried to run over agents, who fired in self-defense. NBC News reported that DHS has not provided evidence for those claims.
Salgado Araujo had lived in the United States for 35 years and had no criminal record, according to NBC News.
Dispute over van search
The FBI requested a warrant to search the van, saying an agent had seen small bags containing a white substance that he believed could be drugs. A lawyer for the Salgado Araujo family said the substance was salt, which outdoor workers mix with lemon and water to deal with Texas heat.
The FBI declined to say whether the warrant had been executed or whether any seized items tested positive for illegal drugs. Aaron Reitz, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Texas, said Thursday that officers saw “several small bags of a white, crystal-like substance” in plain view and that the FBI had executed a search warrant tied to possible narcotics and drug offenses.
Attorney Ruby L. Powers, who represents Salgado Araujo’s brother, said a search warrant is not proof of guilt and called for immediate testing of the substance. She also demanded the release of Salgado Araujo’s brother, who remains in ICE custody after he and the two other men in the van were arrested following the shooting.
Houston’s chief prosecutor Sean Teare and a group representing Salgado Araujo’s family criticized the FBI move, saying they did not believe drugs were in the van and that the warrant did not change the facts of the fatal shooting.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said Wednesday that the state’s top law enforcement agency would investigate the shooting.
This story draws on original reporting from NBC News.