Sons say video and news alerts revealed father’s fatal ICE shooting

Ronaldo Salgado says the first sign that his father had been shot by an ICE officer came from an online video showing 52-year-old Lorenzo Salgado Araujo bleeding and calling for help.

In an interview with CBS News in Houston, Salgado said he rushed around the scene looking for information, but could not get answers. His younger brother, Lorenzo Salgado Jr., told CBS News he learned their father had died while he was on a flight to Houston, after a news story he was reading changed from reporting a shooting to reporting a death.

Salgado Jr. said he tried to hide his tears on the plane and only wanted to get back to his family. He also said he never got the chance to say goodbye to his father, who had lived in the United States for more than 30 years.

Ronaldo Salgado told CBS News he is struggling with guilt over whether getting to the scene sooner could have changed anything.

Disputed account of the stop

The Department of Homeland Security has said Salgado Araujo used his work van as a weapon during a July 7 traffic stop in Houston, leading an ICE officer to fire the fatal shot. CBS News reported that Salgado Araujo’s family and the three men who were inside the van, including his brother, dispute that account.

The three men in the van remain in ICE custody in Texas and face deportation, according to CBS News.

DHS has said Salgado Araujo was in the country illegally, while also acknowledging he was not the target of the ICE operation that came before the shooting. CBS News reported that relatives and friends say he had no criminal record, and DHS has not disputed that claim.

Several investigations are now open. DHS and the Justice Department are reviewing the shooting, while an FBI inquiry is looking at a possible assault on a federal agent. The Harris County District Attorney’s Office and the Texas Rangers have also announced separate investigations.

Harris County District Attorney Sean Teare told CBS News he is prepared to bring charges against ICE agents if investigators find criminal wrongdoing. He also criticized ICE tactics, saying agents were either poorly trained or putting themselves in positions where they could justify firing into vehicles.

FBI cites possible drugs in van

In court filings disclosed Tuesday, the FBI said it is also investigating whether drugs were in the van. In a search warrant application, an FBI agent wrote that he saw several bags inside the vehicle containing a white crystal-like substance he believed was consistent with methamphetamine, according to CBS News.

The agent said officers had not yet entered the van at that time and had photographed the bags from outside. CBS News reported there is no indication ICE pursued the Ford Transit van because of suspected drugs. The FBI filing said federal authorities were still gathering facts about what may have led the people in the vehicle to flee.

The Houston shooting came less than a week before another fatal ICE shooting during a traffic stop, this one in Maine. CBS News identified the man killed there as 25-year-old Colombian immigrant Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero.

After the two deaths drew scrutiny of ICE vehicle stops, the agency paused most such stops pending a review, CBS News reported. The pause ended the next day after President Trump publicly criticized the moratorium, and ICE agents were told they could resume vehicle stops and arrests.

A family asks for answers

Ronaldo Salgado described his father to CBS News as a Mexican immigrant who came from modest beginnings and worked to give his children a better life. Salgado Jr. said his father loved music, took pride in his family and valued honest work.

Both sons are U.S. citizens. Since their father’s death, CBS News reported, they have been assisted and represented by the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas and the League of United Latin American Citizens.

Asked what justice would mean, Salgado Jr. told CBS News it would begin with a full and transparent investigation, and with his mother feeling safe enough to go outside without fear.

This story draws on original reporting from CBS News.