An illegal immigrant was shot and killed by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer in Houston on Tuesday following a traffic stop that led to an alleged vehicle ramming.
Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, a Mexican national, was stopped by ICE officers “as part of a targeted enforcement operation to arrest an illegal alien” when Araujo attempted to drive away, according to multiple reports.
Araujo then “rammed an ICE law enforcement vehicle” in an “attempt to run over an ICE law enforcement officer resulting in our officer firing his weapon in self-defense,” according to ICE, which also said Araujo failed to follow multiple commands before he weaponized his vehicle.
Araujo was shot during the exchange, and ICE said officers immediately contacted first responders, but Araujo later died at the hospital as a result of his injuries. The shooting took place around 7 a.m. in the East End of Houston, and the FBI is leading the investigation.
ICE has maintained a presence in Houston for several months, with the agency claiming to have arrested 735 illegal immigrants in the Texas city in May. ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations, in collaboration with U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the Houston Police Department, conducted a seizure operation in April that intercepted 12,000 suspected counterfeit items.
Tuesday’s shooting marks the second ICE officer-involved incident under Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin.
MAN SUES DHS FOR TRACKING HIM DOWN AFTER EMAIL COMPARING TODD LYONS TO A NAZI
ICE officers shot Carlos Ivan Mendoza Hernandez during an attempted arrest in April. Hernandez survived the shooting, and acting ICE Director Todd Lyons said he was an illegal immigrant and a gang member. Lyons claimed Hernandez “weaponized his vehicle in an attempt to run an officer over,” which led ICE officers to fire in self-defense.
Before Mullin took over, ICE officers shot and killed Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis in January when she attempted to drive away from an interaction during a protest. At the time, DHS claimed Good had also used her vehicle as a weapon.