Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has broken his silence on the fatal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) shooting of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, a Mexican citizen who lived in the Houston area for decades. Abbott described the incident as ‘tragic’ and confirmed that the Texas Department of Public Safety and Texas Rangers will probe the shooting with federal authorities.

Investigation and Reactions

ICE officers killed Salgado Araujo on July 7 while trying to pull over a van he was driving, despite federal authorities stating he was not the target of their operation that morning. The incident has sparked calls for an independent investigation, with Democrats and civil rights leaders in Houston pushing for greater transparency.

U.S. Sen. John Cornyn has also weighed in on the issue, stating that the lack of body-worn cameras ‘sounds like a mistake’ and that it ‘would be wise’ for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to redouble its efforts to equip officers with such cameras. Attorney General Ken Paxton, the GOP nominee for U.S. Senate, has also commented on the shooting, saying that it was ‘always complicated’ and that such moments require split-second decisions.

Abbott has come under fire for past rhetoric about shooting illegal immigrants. In a January 2024 radio interview, he said, ‘the only thing that we’re not doing is we’re not shooting people who come across the border, because of course, the Biden administration would charge us with murder.’ The governor has since clarified that immigration laws can be enforced without shooting people.

Original reporting: Texas Tribune (HLL/CB) — read the source article.