Federal authorities found three bags of a substance believed to be methamphetamine in a van driven by Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, who was shot and killed by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Houston last week. An FBI search warrant indicated that the substance was described as a "white crystal-like substance" consistent with methamphetamine.
ICE officers were conducting an immigration enforcement operation when they attempted to stop a vehicle carrying four individuals, including Araujo. According to the search warrant, Araujo refused to stop and drove over a median in an attempt to flee. The officers did not pursue the vehicle but later located it in a different area.
Araujo allegedly rammed an ICE law enforcement vehicle and did not comply with verbal commands, leading to an officer firing their weapon in self-defense, as stated by ICE. The Department of Homeland Security later clarified that none of the vehicle's occupants were the intended target of the operation. The three passengers were taken into custody and reported they were on their way to work at a construction site when the incident occurred.
Araujo's death was followed by another ICE-related shooting in Biddeford, Maine, where an officer fatally shot 25-year-old Joan Sebastian Guerrero from Colombia. ICE reported that Guerrero attempted to flee, prompting the officer to act out of concern for public safety. In response to the two shootings, ICE announced a pause on the use of traffic stops, a decision that President Donald Trump indicated he would seek to reverse.