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Houston ICE shooting updates: Protesters turn out for vigil to slain father

By Sondra Hernandez , Staff Writer Updated July 8, 2026 7:45 p.m.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the FBI are investigating after a Mexican citizen was shot and killed by an ICE agent in Houston's Magnolia Park on Tuesday.

The son of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, the man who died, said in a statement that "my father did not deserve this," although ICE stated its officer killed Araujo in self-defense after he ignored commands and tried to run over the officer. The stepdaughter of another man arrested by ICE during the encounter has accused the officers of racial profiling.

A protest was held near the scene of the shooting Tuesday night, and news conferences and vigils are slated Wednesday.

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Mexico says it will pursue legal action against US

Whitmire backs federal probe, won’t launch city ICE investigation

Araujo's son recalls his last day alive

LULAC launches GoFundMe

Vigil planned for Wednesday evening

Follow along for the latest on the response to the shooting from Houston Chronicle reporters and photographers.

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TIMELINE: Fatal ICE shootings since the start of Donald Trump's second term

Harris County District Attorney's office visit shooting site

Investigators with the civil rights division of the Harris County District Attorney's Office visited the shooting scene earlier Wednesday and were later seen on the periphery of a protest that night.

The visit comes as local leaders, advocacy groups and Houstonians call for an independent investigation into Araujo's death.

Domingo Garcia, the former national president of the League of United Latin American Citizens, or LULAC, said in a social media post that he and Salgado's family met with the county district attorney's office to request an investigation.

Protesters gather in East End for vigil

About 100 people gathered for a vigil at Wayside Drive and Canal Street on Tuesday evening, returning to the site where Lorenzo Salgado Araujo was fatally shot by an ICE officer a day earlier.

Protesters laid flowers near a street pole that had become a memorial while the crowd chanted in Spanish, demanding justice for Araujo and his family.

U.S. Rep. Al Green and Rep. Sylvia Garcia were also present at the vigil.

Garcia demanded justice for the family, telling protesters she won’t stand for elected officials who allows “the shield of law enforcement” to detain people.

“This is now sacred ground,” she said. “The family is heartbroken.”

Garcia criticized ICE for releasing Araujo’s name before the family even knew what had happened. Araujo’s son said at a news conference Wednesday he learned of his father being fatally shot from a news report.

Kimberly Gomez, a Houston native and recent college graduate, said the fatal shooting hit close to home. She said she went to school with his son at Eastwood Academy High School.

"It could have been my dad, it could have been anybody's dad," Gomez said. "This is horrible, it's not an accident. It's a horrible murder that took place here."

- Tanya Babbar and Kathleen Ortiz

Harris County state reps, senators call for Texas Rangers investigation

Harris County's Democratic delegation to the Texas Legislature released a joint letter Wednesday calling on the Texas Rangers to investigate Salgado's death , despite the Texas Department of Public Safety's assertion already that the agency will not do so.

In the letter addressed to DPS Director Col. Freeman Martin, the Democratic lawmakers said that Salgado's death had "left the East End community shocked and with many unanswered questions."

"The Texas Rangers possess statewide jurisdiction to investigate officer-involved shootings, including those involving federal officers, and to determine whether any state law was violated," the letter states. "As members of the legislature representing Harris County, we respectfully request that the Department of Public Safety open a parallel investigation into the facts and circumstances surrounding this incident."

The letter is signed by state Sens. Carol Alvarado, Borris Miles and Molly Cook. Also signing the letter are state Reps. Christina Morales, Senfronia Thompson, Ana Hernandez, Gene Wu, Jon Rosenthal, Penny Morales Shaw, Jolanda Jones, Charlene Ward Johnson, Mary Ann Perez and Armando Walle.

The Rangers have investigated other shootings involving federal officers , including last year's fatal shooting of a 23-year-old U.S. citizen by a Homeland Security Investigations agent on South Padre Island.

Earlier Wednesday, however, DPS said in a statement that it is not investigating the Houston shooting. The department directed questions to the FBI, which said it is investigating a potential assault on a federal law enforcement officer.

The Department of Homeland Security is also investigating the shooting.

Former ICE official explains why details remain scarce in shooting investigation

The desire to know details is understandable, but policy and federal procedures make it unlikely officials will release a lot of information while they are investigating the incident, said Jerry Robinette, the former special agent in charge for ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations office in San Antonio.

“There are protocols that things have to go through,” Robinette said. “You want to get it right the first time.”

National directives and policies related to use of force as well as requirements for body-worn cameras outline how local ICE offices are supposed to collect and then aid other federal officials in investigations. Officials can and often do coordinate with local officials but the directives make clear federal officials maintain control of federal investigations.

In the case of Tuesday’s shooting , the FBI is investigating the incident, and rarely details its ongoing investigations.

Robinette, a former Houston officer and homicide investigator, said that silence is intended to preserve the investigation, but unfortunately leaves the community with unanswered questions.

That inevitably “makes everybody’s job at the field level that much harder,” he said, when that silence is perceived as closing ranks by critics.

“We don’t do ourselves any favors,” he said, while stressing the investigation must take precedence.

He urged people to remain patient and let federal officials do their work.

“The sooner we can get to the facts, the sooner we can answer a lot of those questions,” Robinette said.

HPD says it has no 'jurisdiction' to investigate shooting

On Wednesday, the Houston Police Department said in a social media post that it was not involved in the shooting of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo. The department said it had been notified of the incident and that its officers provided only scene security and traffic control.

"Federal law states local law enforcement has no independent jurisdiction to investigate federal agencies or federal law enforcement personnel who are acting in the course and scope of their official duties," the department said on social media.

The department said Mayor John Whitmire instructed it to remain in contact with the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security, which are investigating the shooting.

Castro calls for an investigation into ICE shooting

Rep. Joaquin Castro, who represents parts of San Antonio and Bexar County, released a statement Wednesday demanding for a full investigation and for ICE to release all body and dash camera footage.

"My prayers are with the family and the entire Houston community grieving this tragic loss," Castro said. "His family and Texans deserve answers, accountability, and justice."

Residents describe scene of fatal shooting

Magnolia Park resident Juliet Martinez had just dropped her son off at a nearby summer school yesterday morning when she drove past the scene of the fatal Canal Street shooting of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo.

In a video she shared with the Houston Chronicle, taken on her phone around 6:45 a.m. Tuesday, ICE agents could be seen arresting a group of men near an unmarked white van outside of a barbershop. Salgado Araujo, handcuffed and laying on the concrete curb, was seen twitching and bleeding from his abdomen as agents apprehended him.

"I parked across the street and just saw how they had that poor man handcuffed and bleeding out, but they didn’t seem to have a care in the world," Martinez said.

Around 10 minutes later, Martinez said, medical personnel arrived, and the street was blocked off to bystanders.

A police presence is active on the 6800 block on Canal Street after a shooting occurred in Houston, Tuesday, July 7, 2026.

Jacob Lujan/Houston Chronicle

Juanita Murphy, a lifelong Magnolia Park resident who grew up in and still lives in a home just a few doors down from the site of the shooting, said Lorenzo Salgado Araujo's killing left her horrified.

"I could see him, his feet shaking and screaming," she said, recalling hearing the gunshots yesterday morning while drinking her morning coffee before federal and local law enforcement officers flooded her block. "It was really bad. Horrible, horrible, horrible."

Her son, Frank Murphy, who lives in Jersey Village but came to check on his mother after the shooting, said he's hoping for justice.

"They can't be doing that to our people," he said.

Mexico President Claudia Sheinbaum said she is looking to “go beyond diplomatic notes and the measures we have already raised before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights” while speaking with reporters during a Wednesday news conference about the death of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo.

“We cannot allow the mistreatment of our fellow Mexicans in the United States,” Sheinbaum told reporters Wednesday. “Unfortunately, there has been another death of a Mexican national in the United States for being detained, when that person's only offense was lacking immigration documents, even though they had been hired by an American company."

Texas Rangers will not investigate ICE shooting

The Texas Rangers are not investigating the deadly ICE shooting in Houston, the Department of Public Safety said Wednesday.

The state agency did not receive a request to investigate. Texas Rangers have investigated multiple recent shootings involving federal immigration officials. DPS directed questions to the FBI, which is investigating.

Last year, Texas Rangers investigated the deadly shooting of 23-year-old Ruben Ray Martinez by a Homeland Security Investigations agent in South Padre. A grand jury in February declined to indict the ICE agent.

Rangers also investigated a shooting in Starr County involving the Border Patrol in December.

Hidalgo says ICE has lost public trust

Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo joined a growing chorus of calls from elected officials for an independent investigation into the killing.

While other elected officials were cautious in their calls for accountability, Hidalgo said recent killings by federal immigration officers and attempted cover-ups made it impossible for her to trust the government’s account of the incident.

As the official responsible for the safety of 5 million Texans I want a full and complete investigation into the shooting of a construction worker. This is an agency with a recent history of inexplicable arrests, extrajudicial violence, and blatant attempts at coverups. ICE has…

— Lina Hidalgo (@LinaHidalgoTX) July 8, 2026

“This is an agency with a recent history of inexplicable arrests, extrajudicial violence and blatant attempts at cover ups,” Hidalgo said. “ICE has long since lost public trust.”

Texas Democrats join call for transparency

The Texas Democratic Party joined the plea of other legislators and leaders Wednesday asking federal authorities to release all available evidence as quickly as possible in the fatal shooting.

"Nobody is defending violent criminals or suggesting that law enforcement should not protect themselves when they face a genuine threat," said Texas Democratic Party Chair Kendall Scudder. "But we’ve already seen this movie in Minneapolis so we know the public cannot simply be asked to accept an official version of events without transparency."

Federal officials have said that the ICE agent acted in self-defense as Araujo allegedly attempted to strike officers with his vehicle.

A statement from the Texas Democratic Party said the public deserves a complete accounting of the facts supported by all available evidence, including body camera footage, surveillance video and witness testimony.

"Texas families deserve safe communities and a fair immigration system," Scudder added. "We can enforce our laws while still respecting constitutional rights, due process, and basic human dignity. Those values are not mutually exclusive."

Hidalgo reviewing shooting facts, may issue statement

Commissioner Adrian Garcia joined other officials in calling for an independent investigation into the shooting led by local authorities.

“Our local authorities are grounded in this community and have the trust needed to ensure full accountability,” Garcia said. “Our neighborhoods should not live in fear. As the facts of this case come to light, this family deserves answers and accountability. Justice must be served for Mr. Araujo."

Garcia’s statement came after other court members made similar appeals in the immediate aftermath of Tuesday’s shooting .

A spokesperson for Judge Lina Hidalgo’s staff said her office was still reviewing the facts of the incident and would likely issue a statement Wednesday afternoon.

Texas governor candidate calls for transparency

State representative and the Democratic nominee for Texas governor Gina Hinojosa is alarmed after Tuesday's shooting.

“Let me be clear: the targeting of our communities is making us less safe, not more safe," she said. "Texans, and all Americans, deserve full transparency about this shooting, including the release of body camera and dashcam footage, and I join the calls for a transparent investigation that includes state Rangers to begin as quickly as possible.”

District Attorney welcomes witnesses to contact him

Harris County District Attorney Sean Teare issued a statement saying the procedure in officer-involved shootings is that the DA's office conduct a parallel investigation, but that federal authorities are handling the case.

Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, who was shot on his way to work, was a husband, a father, and a longtime member of our community.

When anyone in Harris County loses their life during an interaction with law enforcement, the Harris County District Attorney’s Office conducts an…

— Sean Teare (@SeanTeareHCDAO) July 8, 2026

"When anyone in Harris County loses their life during an interaction with law enforcement, the Harris County District Attorney’s Office conducts an investigation parallel to the agency leading the investigation," he said in an X post. "Unfortunately at this time, federal authorities continue exclusively handling all aspects in this case."

He said Salgado Araujo’s family and the community deserve the truth.

Teare urged anyone with video, photos or eyewitness accounts to come to his office.

Local investigation is important, says former police chief

In the wake of the fatal shooting, at least one former chief of a major American city says it is important that local police conduct their own investigation.

“I would investigate or at least embed an investigator,” said Jorge Colina, a retired Miami police chief who now consults for law enforcement agencies nationwide. Even if federal authorities are reluctant to cooperate in an investigation, like they were in Minnesota, it’s important that local leaders keep trying, Colina said.

Colina’s attitude stands in stark contrast to Houston Mayor John Whitmire and officials with the Houston Police Department, who say they’ve had no involvement since ICE agents fatally shot a man in the Magnolia Park neighborhood.

On Wednesday morning, Whitmire declined to seek a city-led investigation, citing an FBI probe was already taking place.

Araujo didn’t know unmarked cars were ICE, family said

During a Wednesday press conference, Araujo's son, Ronaldo Salgado, said his father would have stopped if the cars had any emblems indicating they belonged to a law-enforcement agency. Because he was getting a work permit, he was familiar with the process.

“He knew what to do in case he was stopped by ICE. He knew not to sign anything,” Salgado said. “What happened, though, was my father was followed by two unmarked cars.”

The family said in the press conference that no law enforcement agency has reached out to Arajujo’s family besides communication with the FBI that occurred on site.

'Don't turn over evidence'

At the Wednesday press conference, Rep. Gene Wu encouraged residents not to turn over evidence to ICE.

“We've already heard stories that ICE is coming to people's homes and taking their videos and deleting them,” he said. “Do not let this happen. Do not let police officers, especially ICE, come into your home and take your things without a warrant.”

Houston leaders call for independent investigation

Houston elected officials who spoke at the Wednesday press conference included City Council member Alejandra Salinas, a representative for Harris County Commissioner Adrian Garcia, Congresswoman Sylvia Garcia, Harris County Commissioner Rodney Ellis and U.S. Rep. Al Green.

They called for an independent investigation into the shooting.

Garcia said no family should have to lose a loved one in this way.

“This is about a Houston family led by a man who has lived here for 35 years with absolutely no criminal history,” she said.

Garcia said ICE’s allegations against Arajujo are only allegations.

“We need to know why Lorenzo was targeted,” she said. “We need to know who authorized the operation. We need to know whether de escalation was attempted, and we need to know when this family will get answers, when this community will get answers.”

Green said ICE should leave this area until the community gets information.

“We cannot allow a cover up to take place … We know what happened to Ms. Good,” Green said. “We don’t know what happened, but we do know that we cannot depend on ICE to give us credible information.”

Given the news that Whitmire declined a Houston Police Department investigation, Green repeated a call to action.

“This is the time when we need all hands on deck,” Green said. “The mayor ought to reconsider what he said. I believe the Houston Police Department can investigate this.”

Houston family hears from father in ICE custody

Juana Degollado, a 27-year-old Houstonian, said she sprung out of bed when her stepfather called home from an ICE detention facility in Conroe Wednesday morning.

It was about 6:30 a.m., and Daniel Tirado Pantoja had dialed from the Montgomery Processing Center one day after an ICE agent shot and killed his boss Lorenzo Salgado Araujo in Magnolia Park.

Degollado could hear the heartbreak in his voice as he and his wife spoke through tears over the phone line.

"He just sounds really sad," Degollado said. "He spoke to my mom. They were both crying, and my mom was telling him it's going to be OK, that we're going to do whatever we can to help him out."

Tirado Pantoja has lived in Texas for over 30 years, had a clean record and was in the process of getting his Green Card , Degollado said. He's been married to her mother for 12 years and has a teenage son who is a U.S. citizen.

Degollado said her stepfather is a great person with a "big heart for everyone." His birthday is this month, and he will likely spend it in federal custody, she said.

"They were just men going to work to provide for their families," she said. "That's all they were doing. They were not committing any crimes."

ICE agents at house in Spring

A handful of armed ICE agents were outside a house in Spring on Wednesday morning.

They were outside a home at Saint Winfred Drive in the Chancel subdivision.

Officials at the scene said a man had barricaded himself in the house after a chase, but declined to give any more information.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers stand outside of a residence on Saint Winfred street after a man who they were pursuing barricaded himself inside the house in Spring, Wednesday, July 8, 2026.

Neighbors said the agents had been outside the house since around 7 a.m. A truck that was parked in the driveway had apparently hit the house as it was pulling in and the driver left.

Neighbors said they didn’t know the residents of the house.

No other police agencies were at the scene. The agents asked a reporter to stay “out of the line of fire.” But otherwise the street was open.

- John Wayne Ferguson

Houston mayor backs federal probe, won’t launch city ICE investigation

Houston Mayor John Whitmire declined to seek a city-led investigation into the fatal shooting of Salgado Araujo by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent, saying there cannot be a city investigation while a federal investigation is occurring.

"We're monitoring it very carefully," Whitmire said. "It's truly a tragedy ... But there's no involvement with HPD."

Whitmire said it was a tragic, complex issue and his prayers go out to the family and the community that, "feels the pain."

'I didn't think it was him'

During the press conference, Ronaldo Salgado, Arajujo’s son, recalled Arajujo’s life and his last day alive.

“For the majority of the last 35 years, his life in the United States, he began the day the same way, and it always ended by coming home, sitting on the porch, eating a hearty meal made by my mother, going to sleep and then doing it all again,” he said.

Salgado said he discovered his dad had been shot and killed through a Facebook video, where he recognized his dad’s voice.

“I didn’t think it was him, but I had to make sure,” he said.

When he discovered his dad had died, he immediately called his mother, he said.

Salgado said Arajujo’s three sons were his pride and joy. Arajujo applied for a work permit and was on his way to obtaining legal status, he said.

“I am deeply heartbroken to see that the man who taught me the value of hard work, family values and education will no longer spend time on that porch,” Salgado said.

Salgado said he hopes that the three men who were with his father — including his uncle — can provide their own statements.

'It is unacceptable, it is un-American'

The family of Salgado Araujo, who was shot and killed by an ICE officer on Tuesday, and League of United Latin American Citizens officers called for an independent investigation at a press conference Wednesday morning.

“It is unacceptable, it is un-American, to use lethal force against a human being, then lock away the evidence,” said Roman Palomares, LULAC’s national president.

LULAC is the largest and oldest Hispanic organization in the United States and was founded in Texas in 1921. Palomares said LULAC is demanding the truth and a full local investigation.

“Say his name because ICE does not want you to say that name,” Palomares said.

Palomares said the family was not informed when Ajauro was shot and taken to the hospital while going to work.

CEO Juan Proaño said officials’ statement on Ajauro’s death is reminiscent that of Renee Good , who was killed in Minneapolis in January.

“We will have the truth about Lorenzo Salgado Araujo and we will not stop until we do,” he said.

Domingo Garcia, former LULAC president and Texas legislator, called for witnesses to come forward to “hold (ICE) accountable.”

“We don't expect the truth from the Department of Justice or the FBI. We expect a whitewash,” he said.

Arrested worker at Conroe ICE processing center

Daniel Tirado Pantoja, the worker who was detained at the shooting scene on Tuesday where Araujo was shot, is in custody at ICE's Montgomery County Processing Center in Conroe, his attorney Hugo Balderas-Ibarra said. Balderas-Ibarra said he hopes to visit Pantoja on Wednesday and believes his arrest constituted racial profiling.

Balderas-Ibarra, who specializes in immigration cases, could not immediately share details about Pantoja's status but said he's working to get him released .

"If you're brown, you look like you might be undocumented, that's sufficient probable cause to stop them," Ibarra said as he criticized ICE's arrest.

Residents report seeing more ICE agents

On Wednesday, community members reported seeing more ICE agents blocks from where the shooting occurred .

Sisters Patricia and Katherine Cruz said they spotted two unmarked cars and a patrol vehicle in a restaurant parking lot while driving near Harrisburg Boulevard and 75th Street, though it was unclear which agency the vehicles were with.

There has been an increase in ICE presence in the neighborhood, Cruz said, noting she was stopped by agents a couple of weeks before the shooting.

“It's concerning,” she said, noting incidents of ICE agent shooting in other cities. “Innocent people are losing their lives.”

The Houston Chronicle reached out to ICE Wednesday morning to ask if they are operating in the neighborhood.

What we know about ICE's role

As of Wednesday morning, officials have not named the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent who shot Araujo. ICE’s account is that the officer fired in self-defense after Araujo allegedly refused commands and tried to run over an officer or rammed an ICE vehicle.

Araujo was shot in the abdomen and declared dead after being taken to a hospital.

There have been no reports of injuries to any ICE personnel.

ICE hasn't released any video of the encounter. Security camera and social media videos obtained by various media outlets don't show the full extent of the interaction between the agents and Araujo.

The Department of Homeland Security's Office of Inspector General is leading the investigation into the shooting, DHS said on Tuesday.

On Wednesday morning, the Houston Police Department said it was not involved, though the League of United Latin American Citizens and others have demanded local authorities conduct an independent investigation.

Residents describe ICE presence on Canal Street

A car passes through the 6800 block on Canal Street after a shooting occurred in Houston, Tuesday, July 7, 2026.

Canal Street looked much like it does every day, according to Jorge Gonzalez, who lives on the street — a few scattered people standing in line for breakfast at the Chevron gas station, some people up early and standing outside waiting for work.

Just 24 hours after an ICE agent fatally shot Salgado Araujo , most businesses on Canal Street hadn’t yet opened for the day.

A manager at La Michoacana Meat Market, who didn’t share her name, said ICE agents in unmarked cars had become a regular staple in that area.

Gonzalez agreed, saying they showed up at the nearby gas stations and the meat market, looking for day laborers and people setting out to work for the day.

“And why?” he said. “Those are the ones doing the work, they’re hard working people.”

Gonzalez pointed to the road, currently under repair and divided between its original red brick and a new smoky black asphalt, and said the people ICE agents are going after are the same doing that work.

“People are scared,” said Juan Gonzalez, who lives in the neighborhood behind Canal Street, adding he thinks most people wouldn’t want to discuss the fatal shooting.

Juan Gonzalez has lived in the same house for 55 years and hadn’t had problems until recently.

He said people now have to carry paperwork , even if they’re citizens, because ICE agents patrol the neighborhood and regularly stop people just because they’re Hispanic.

Jorge Gonzalez said he didn't see or hear the shooting, but that ICE agents looked in his yard, he's not sure for what.

He said he asked them what had happened and what they were doing, but they told him it was an active investigation and they couldn't share anything with him.

ICE agents were the only people on scene initially, but HPD officers eventually showed up on scene as well, he said. ICE officials didn't immediately respond to a request for comment about what they're doing in the neighborhood as of Wednesday morning.

'A simple man. A family man.'

A day after his father died, Ronaldo Salgado took to Facebook Wednesday morning to share more about his experience.

"Woke up this morning and it is now finally hitting me that my father is gone. It’s been 24 hours since I’ve been told that my dad is in trouble and needed to find him," Salgado said on his Facebook page.

He said he spent most of Tuesday at the crime scene waiting to hear news about his father.

"Today is the first day without him for all of us, and it is heartbreaking to know that my mom did not make lunch for my dad before going to work — the first time in their 30-plus-year marriage," Salgado said. "This is my father — a simple man, a family man. Not someone crying for help on the floor as he bled. He just wanted to go to work and come back to us."

Salgado will speak at a press conference at 10 a.m. at the Greater Coalition for Justice.

A GoFundMe page launched

LULAC Institute has started a GoFundMe page to support Salgado Araujo's wife and family. The goal is $25,000. The group also listed his age as 52.

Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, who was shot and killed by and ICE officer on Tuesday, July 7, 2026, in Houston, is pictured in a GoFundMe photo on a fundraiser posted by LULAC.

"He was a husband, a father of three sons, a small-business owner and the heart of his family," according to the GoFundMe. "This fund exists to carry his family through the impossible days ahead, and to let them grieve without the added weight of how they will get by."

The page said he owned his own construction business.

"He was known for his work ethic, his fairness and his willingness to help anyone who needed it," according to the page. "When people describe him, the first words are always the same, hardworking, dependable, kind."

Funds collected will go to funeral and burial costs, legal expenses, everyday living costs and his wife’s needs as her husband was the sole provider.

How Houston and Texas officials are reacting

The shooting death is drawing the attention of many area officials and leaders seeking transparency on what led to the deadly confrontation.

Local leaders like Harris County Attorney Abbie Kamin, Rochelle Garza, President of the Texas Civil Rights Project and Congresswoman Sylvia Garcia have issued statements.

See the Houston Chronicle's story to see what they are saying .

- Catherine Dominguez

The Houston group Alianza Latina Internacional hosts a vigil for Salgado Araujo at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday. It will take place at Wayside Drive and Macario Garcia Drive at the corner.

The group posted the vigil information on its Facebook page around midnight.

"They took the life of a warrior who was only going to work," according to a flyer on the group's page. "A father, a son, a brother, a friend who deserved to come home. We do not seek revenge. We demand justice."

People gather for a protest and candlelight vigil following an officer-involved shooting during a federal immigration enforcement operation in Houston on Tuesday, July 7, 2026. The shooting is under investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Raquel Natalicchio/Houston Chronicle

'A hardworking Mexican man'

Ronaldo Salgado posted a statement on his Facebook page Tuesday saying that his father "Was a hardworking Mexican man. My father has been in this country for nearly 35 years, working in construction to provide for myself, my two brothers and my mother."

Salgado Araujo was on his way to pick up workers for the day when the shooting happened, Salgado said. His father was in the process of gaining legal citizenship.

Salgado will speak in a press conference with support from the League of United Latin American Citizens at 10 a.m. today at the Greater Coalition for Justice at 150 West Parker Road in Houston on the fifth floor.

Protesters gather in Magnolia Park

Protesters took to the streets Tuesday night in Houston's Magnolia Park neighborhood following Salgado Araujo's death earlier in the day.

A group of about two dozen protesters gathered at the site of Araujo’s killing Tuesday night as storm clouds rumbled in the distance.

“Say it loud, say it clear, immigrants are welcome here!” they chanted, as storm clouds rumbled in the distance. Passing cars on Canal Street honked in support.

The protest was organized by several community groups, including Contra Gentrificación, which called Araujo's death the result of "Trump’s regime at the hands of his ICE goons."

"This is very, very close to home, so I am here in support of these people because it's not just," said protester Adriana Tellez, who lives in the area where Araujo was shot.

- Tanya Babbar , Ashley Soebroto and Sam González Kelly

LULAC calls for transparent investigation

The League of United Latin American Citizens on Tuesday demanded that the Houston Police Department lead an investigation into the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement shooting of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, saying it would be a "dereliction of duty" if the department declines to get involved.

The Latino civil rights organization and the Greater Houston Coalition for Justice planned a news conference for Wednesday morning to call for a transparent and independent investigation into the shooting.

— Sam González Kelly

July 8, 2026 | Updated July 8, 2026 7:45 p.m.

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