HOUSTON, Texas — The newly appointed U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Texas, Aaron Reitz, revealed shocking information about the fatal shooting of a Mexican illegal alien by an ICE officer in Houston last week. Reitz announced that investigators found drugs inside the van that was fleeing from ICE and that it was the second attempt to flee from officers.
U.S. Attorney Reitz announced on Thursday that the FBI, the Department of Homeland Security, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas were investigating the alleged assault on ICE officers with a fleeing vehicle and the subsequent shooting death of the Mexican national. He then provided an update on the information uncovered so far.
Reitz wrote:
I want to assure the public that the appropriate law enforcement agencies are looking into this matter. That includes my office, the FBI, DHS, and other state and local partners. Based upon preliminary information my office has been provided to date, and without drawing any final conclusions while the investigation is ongoing, here’s what we have reason to believe happened:
On the morning of Tuesday, July 7th, federal officers were investigating two Guatemalan men known to be driving a white van. These men had previously evaded arrest and were potentially subject to deportation. While looking for the suspects’ white van, officers received a report of a similar van in the area. The officers’ two vehicles—each with two officers inside—turned on their police lights and attempted to pull over the van and the men that fit the suspects’ description. The aliens then fled, conducting a rapid U-turn and hopping a median to get away. The agents chose not to pursue. Later that morning, the agents came across the van again. And again, the illegal aliens attempted to flee, but this time the agents successfully surrounded the vehicle. At some point, two of the four officers got out of their vehicles and instructed the non-compliant aliens to put the van in park. Preliminary information indicates the driver shifted the van into reverse, then forward again, while an officer was partially inside the van or immediately next to it.
The chief prosecutor for the federal district said a group of illegal aliens attempted to flee and one of the officers fired a single shot that struck Lorenzo Salgado. That shot led to Mr. Salgado’s death. Officers attempted first aid on the scene, and Salgado was transported to a hospital, where he died a few hours later.
Following the shooting, officers observed “several small bags of a white, crystal-like substance” located in plain view inside the van. The FBI obtained a search warrant for the van and seized the drugs as part of the ongoing investigation into the incident.
Reitz cautioned that this is preliminary information and they are not drawing any “decisive conclusions” at this time.
The passengers of the van were taken into custody and transported to the ICE detention facility in Conroe, Texas. ICE officials told Breitbart Texas that these men will be held and not deported, pending the outcome of the investigation.
Houston and Harris County officials continue to call for an independent local investigation into Salgado’s death.
Bob Price is the Breitbart Texas-Border team’s associate editor and senior news contributor. He is an original member of the Breitbart Texas team. Price is a regular panelist on Fox 26 Houston’s What’s Your Point? Sunday morning talk show. He also serves as president of Blue Wonder Gun Care Products.