What to know about the fatal shooting of a Houston man by an ICE officer

HOUSTON (AP) — A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer fatally shot Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, a Mexican national who lived in the U.S. for decades, as the homebuilder drove his construction crew to a Houston job site.

His death set off protests in Texas' largest city and calls from Democrats and Salgado Araujo 's family for an independent investigation. The shooting on Tuesday in a heavily Hispanic neighborhood is at least the eighth death during the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement campaign.

The Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE, has said federal officers were conducting a targeted operation to arrest a person in the country without legal status when it attempted to stop a vehicle driven by Salgado Araujo. In a statement, DHS said Salgado Araujo rammed an ICE vehicle and that a federal officer fired a weapon in self-defense.

Salgado Araujo’s family said he had nearly finished the long process of obtaining legal status in the U.S. after living in the country for 35 years, and that he knew what to do if approached by ICE officers. Ronaldo Salgado, his son, said his father may have been scared that the people in unmarked vehicles were coming to steal his work tools.

Here’s what we know about Salgado Araujo’s shooting:

Few photos or video surrounding the shooting in Houston have emerged on social media, unlike other deaths involving federal immigration officers.

DHS said an officer opened fire after Salgado Araujo ignored commands and attempted to ram the officer with his vehicle. The agency has not released any video, photos or additional information since that initial statement released just hours after the shooting.

A video shot by bystander Juliet Martinez shows the aftermath of the shooting. A black vehicle is angled toward a white van, their doors wide open. A bleeding and handcuffed man groans loudly on the ground and his leg shakes. Other federal officers stand over at least three other handcuffed men.

ICE has not released the names of the other men detained, but Salgado Araujo’s family identified one as his brother. Families of the other two men said they were able to briefly talk to them Wednesday and they are being detained.

ICE has not said if they were specifically targeting Salgado Araujo. They also have not responded to requests for information about whether the officers were wearing body cameras or whether the officers involved are on leave.

Salgado Araujo and his wife came to America after meeting in their teens in Mexico and deciding they wanted a better life for their future family, Ronaldo Salgado said.

The father of three built houses in the Houston suburbs, started his own business and established his own crew. He had no criminal record, his family said.

Ronaldo Salgado, the oldest son, became a teacher. He said one of his brothers is an engineer and the other is studying engineering in college.

His son said he was a quiet man who left for work at sunrise and loved to pet his dog and sit on his porch listening to music.

“That’s how I want the world to know my father. Not as someone who got shot and killed, but as a family man, a man who understood that good things come to those who put in hard work,” Salgado said.

Salgado Araujo was at least the eighth person to die during the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement campaign. No immigration officers have been charged in the deaths and video footage in several previous shootings contradicts the accounts of federal officers.

The most well-known of the killings happened during the winter crackdown in Minnesota where U.S. citizens Renee Good and Alex Pretti were shot and killed during protests.

Two other shooting deaths happened during traffic stops, including Ruben Ray Martinez, 23, who was killed in Texas in March 2025. His death was not disclosed for nearly a year.

President Claudia Sheinbaum said it is time to escalate Mexico's complaints beyond diplomatic channels after the killing of Salgado Araujo.

“We are going to do everything in our power, because we cannot stand silent” in the face of the deaths of Mexicans “whose only crime is working honestly in the United States,” Sheinbaum said.

Mexico will request that criminal charges be filed in U.S. courts over the alleged killing of three Mexicans during ICE operations and the deaths of another 14 in ICE custody, Foreign Minister Roberto Velasco said Thursday during a presidential press conference.

The complaints, filed against whoever is found responsible for the deaths, will be submitted to state prosecutor offices and the U.S. Department of Justice.

Homeland Security said Tuesday that the department's Inspector General’s office was investigating the shooting.

Harris County District Attorney Sean Teare said Salgado Araujo’s family and the community deserve the truth but that federal authorities are exclusively handling the investigation at this time.

Houston Mayor John Whitmire said city police were not involved in any part of the chase or shooting and have no jurisdiction over federal officers.

Brook reported from New Orleans and Collins from Columbia, South Carolina. Associated Press reporters Gisela Salomon in Miami; Rebecca Santana in Washington, D.C.; and Ryan J. Foley in Omaha contributed.

This story has been corrected to show that Mexico plans to request criminal charges, not that it will file the charges.

Lorenzo Salgado Jr., son of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, holds a family photograph during a news conference Wednesday, July 8, 2026, in Houston. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

A man walks past a makeshift memorial for Lorenzo Salgado Araujo Wednesday, July 8, 2026, in Houston. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

Ronaldo Salgado, son of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, speaks during a news conference Wednesday, July 8, 2026, in Houston. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

Ronaldo Salgado and Lorenzo Jr., sons of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, hold a photograph of their father during a news conference Wednesday, July 8, 2026, in Houston. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

Candles are lit during a vigil for Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, a Mexican national fatally shot by a federal immigration agent a day prior, Wednesday, July 8, 2026, in Houston. (AP Photo/Mark Felix)

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Democrats in Maine began jockeying Thursday to become the new candidate for a pivotal U.S. Senate seat after progressive nominee Graham Platner announced he will withdraw from the race after a sexual assault allegation.

Democrats need to pick a candidate to replace Platner on the ballot by July 27, according to state law. Whoever is selected will have less than four months before facing longtime Republican Sen. Susan Collins in the general election. Potential candidates had already been teasing their interest before Platner, who denies the allegation, announced he intends to drop out. But a growing number began formally launching their campaigns Thursday.

The Maine Democratic Party has said it will hold a nominating convention to choose the replacement. The party says the convention will involve hundreds of delegates from across the state, but how and when that’ll take place remains unknown.

Maine is considered a key state for control of the narrowly divided Senate, and Democrats are desperate for a candidate capable of defeating Collins while President Donald Trump is broadly unpopular.

These are some of the people who have shown interest in the Maine Senate race:

Jackson is Maine’s former state Senate president. He unsuccessfully ran to be the Democratic nominee for governor earlier this year with the backing of Platner and U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders. Shortly after Platner said he would quit the Senate race, Jackson launched his campaign, arguing that Mainers want “a progressive fighter." Our Revolution, the organization founded by Sanders, has since said it would back Jackson, 58.

Jackson released a statement with dozens of endorsements, many from current and former state and local officials, on Thursday.

Shah, former director of Maine’s Center for Disease Control and Prevention, announced Thursday he was vying to be the next Democratic Senate candidate. He came in second in this year’s Maine Democratic governor's primary and was seen as more of a moderate candidate compared with Jackson while running for governor. "To the movement that supported Graham Platner, my message is this: you have a place in this campaign," Shah, 49, said in a statement.

The co-founder of Maine Beer Company, Kleban also confirmed his candidacy on Wednesday after Platner's announcement. Kleban briefly entered the Senate race last year before dropping out when Gov. Janet Mills announced her candidacy. Kleban, 49, endorsed Mills, who later dropped out of the Democratic primary.

“I'm ready to fight for Mainers and bring a new generation of leadership to Washington,” Kleban said.

Bellows is Maine's secretary of state. She announced Thursday that she's running for the seat, saying she's spent her career “taking on tough fights and doing the right thing," where she's served as a former civil liberties advocate and sparred with President-elect Donald Trump over ballot access.

This wouldn't be her first time running for political office. Bellows, 51, placed fourth in the state’s Democratic governor's primary in June. And in 2014, Bellows ran against Collins as the Senate Democratic nominee and lost in a landslide.

Wood, 36, initially attempted to run in the Maine Democratic Senate primary last year but dropped out to run in the state's 2nd District. He lost that race, coming in third to state Auditor Matt Dunlap. He's since said he's interested in running for the Senate again, and announced as of Thursday.

“To beat Susan Collins, we need a candidate who can provide a true contrast and run an unapologetically progressive campaign: Passing Medicare for All. Stopping ICE terrorizing our streets,” Wood wrote on social media on Tuesday.

Loud filed paperwork to run for the Senate seat earlier this week. The 29-year-old social worker also ran in the state's 2nd District Democratic primary, but came in last during the state's first round of ranked choice voting.

Geiger, a previous Platner supporter and a state Democratic lawmaker, is another potential candidate. She hasn't announced her candidacy, but in an interview with MS NOW on Wednesday, Geiger, 70, said she would hire Platner's staff, whom she described as “deeply impassioned and confident young people.”

Kruesi reported from Providence, R.I.

Follow the AP’s coverage of the 2026 election at https://apnews.com/projects/elections-2026/.

In this combination of photos taken in Augusta, Maine news conferences, Nirav Shah, left, speaks April 28, 2020, and Troy Jackson speaks, Jan. 17, 2023. (AP Photos/Robert F. Bukaty)

FILE - Voter cast their Maine primary ballots at the Civic Center, June 9, 2026, in Augusta, Maine. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty, File)

FILE - Dan Kleban, a co-owner of the Maine Beer Company, poses in the company's tasting room in Freeport, Maine, May 7, 2015. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty, File)

FILE - Senate President Troy Jackson speaks at a news conference, Jan. 17, 2023, in Augusta, Maine. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty, File)

FILE - Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows speaks at a news conference, Oct. 6, 2025 at the Maine State House in Augusta. (AP Photo/Patrick Whittle, File)

FILE - Nirav Shah, director of the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention, speaks at a news conference, April 28, 2020, in Augusta, Maine. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)