Ronaldo Salgado and his younger brother, Lorenzo Salgado Jr., have shared how they learned about the death of their father, 52-year-old Mexican immigrant Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, who was shot and killed by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer during a traffic stop in Houston on July 7, 2026.

Ronaldo Salgado said he found out about the shooting through a video posted online showing his father "screaming for someone to help him" while actively bleeding. He described feeling overwhelmed and searching for answers that never came. Lorenzo Salgado Jr. recounted that he discovered the news while on a flight to Houston to see his father, opening an article reporting the shooting about an hour into the flight.

The Department of Homeland Security stated that Salgado Araujo had weaponized his work van during the traffic stop, which prompted the ICE agent to shoot him. Meanwhile, Ronaldo Salgado expressed deep guilt over the incident and described his father as coming from "humble beginnings" in Mexico, having immigrated to the U.S. to provide a better life for his family.

The fatal shooting is under investigation by the Harris County District Attorney and the Texas Rangers, with the Harris County District Attorney indicating readiness to file charges as appropriate.

Sources

  • CBS Politics, "Sons say they learned father was killed by ICE through video, news reports," July 16, 2026

Notable Quotes

  • "He was actively bleeding. He was screaming for someone to help him," Ronaldo Salgado told CBS News.
  • "I just felt a lot of fear at that point. And I was running around the site trying to look for answers but those answers never came."
  • "Maybe an hour into the flight, I opened the same article that reported that the person had been shot," Lorenzo Jr. recounted.
  • The article was updated to read, 'shot, killed.'
  • "I was going back and forth between the bathroom to like clear my nose," Lorenzo Salgado Jr. said.