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The substance that investigators discovered in the vehicle of the man fatally shot by immigration agents in Houston earlier this month was determined not to be illegal drugs, the Harris County District Attorney’s Office said on Friday.
“We can confirm the substance found in Lorenzo Salgado Araujo’s van tested negative for narcotics/ illicit drugs,” the office said in a statement shared on social media.
The office said that it will hold off on further comment during this “pending” investigation and that Salgado Araujo’s family has been notified of this development.
An Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer shot and killed the 51-year-old father of three during a vehicle stop on July 7. Federal authorities said that Salgado Araujo “weaponized” his vehicle against the officer — a claim that has been disputed by the other people who were in the vehicle at the time.
Democratic Rep. Sylvia Garcia (Texas), who represents the Houston area, later said that Salgado Araujo was not the intended target of federal authorities’ investigation.
“We will not stop until there is an independent investigation, full transparency, and accountability,” Garcia said in a Friday social media statement after a Congressional Hispanic Caucus hearing about this fatal shooting.
“Houston deserves the truth. Lorenzo’s family deserves justice,” the lawmaker continued.
The FBI obtained a search warrant that permitted agents to search the van after the federal law enforcement agency said small bags that appeared to contain methamphetamine could be clearly seen in Salgado Araujo’s van.
David Donatti, the senior staff attorney of the ACLU of Texas, criticized the government’s handling of this investigation in a Friday statement and suggested these packets were actually “homemade electrolyte mixes” used for hydration.
“By taking the unusual steps of securing and then unsealing their search warrant, the government has demonstrated that it is more interested in creating a false narrative than in seeking the truth,” Donatti said. “The Salgados deserve real answers about what happened to their father, and we reiterate our call for an independent and complete investigation.”
The Hill has reached out to the Department of Homeland Security for comment.
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