Shortly before 7 a.m. on Tuesday, immigration officers were trailing a white work van in the Magnolia Park neighborhood of Houston. Minutes later, the driver had been fatally shot in his abdomen.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement said a federal officer had opened fire at the man, Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, 52, in “self-defense” after Mr. Salgado Araujo “weaponized” his white van. The agency accused him of ramming two of their vehicles and trying to run over an ICE officer.
Neither Mr. Salgado Araujo, a Mexican immigrant who had lived in the United States without authorization for 35 years, nor the three passengers in his van were the initial targets of the operation, a Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman told The New York Times.
Footage from bystanders and local businesses obtained by The Times, although incomplete, provides a window into the events that unfolded on Canal Street.
Mr. Salgado Araujo’s white work van — closely followed by two unmarked S.U.V.s driven by ICE agents — is heading south on Wayside Drive at 6:46 a.m. Neither of the S.U.V.s appeared to have emergency lights activated.
Mr. Salgado Araujo’s van abruptly makes a tight left turn onto a residential block of Canal Street that is partially blocked off by construction. The change of direction is apparently too sudden for the agents in the lead S.U.V. — a Nissan — to follow. The second S.U.V. — a Jeep — follows the van onto Canal.
Attempt to Box In Van
Footage shows the Jeep, driven by an ICE agent, initially speeding up along the driver’s side of Mr. Salgado Araujo’s van, overtaking it.
But two seconds later, a security camera at a medical office filming from the opposite direction shows the Jeep on the passenger side of the van. The Jeep appears to veer sharply toward the van, possibly making contact. Both vehicles swoop into a U-turn. An agent appears to exit the Jeep.
Meanwhile, footage shows the Nissan driven by an ICE agent cutting through a parking lot, pulling out onto Canal and driving head-on toward the van. The van shifts into reverse — backing away from the Nissan and out of the camera frame.
A second later, the van pulls forward and is visible in the camera frame again steering left, away from two agents who are now chasing the van on foot. Part of the van’s side paneling — possibly damaged by a collision not captured by the footage — can be seen falling off.
During this period, the positioning of vehicles and agents is sporadically obscured in the available footage. It’s unclear if there was a ramming or a collision or if shots were fired during these moments.
Pursuit Ends
The Nissan flips around back toward the van and at least one agent jumps out.
Around the same time, another camera shows the van rolling forward to a stop. Almost immediately, a person is visible moving along the passenger side of the van. A moment later, an agent appears with one arm reaching back toward his hip and the other pulling the van door open. Several occupants are pulled out of the van onto their knees and handcuffed. Mr. Salgado Araujo is not visible among them.
Footage from a passing motorist shows that seconds later, two agents on the other side of the van are bent over Mr. Salgado Araujo. He is lying on the ground and moaning, his hands behind his back. His shirt is soaked in blood.
The Department of Homeland Security did not respond to a request for comment from The Times.
Shahrzad Rasekh and Maria Jimenez Moya contributed reporting. Kirsten Noyes, Alain Delaquérière and Georgia Gee contributed research.
