Passenger who witnessed Houston ICE shooting says it's left him traumatized and unable to sleep
HOUSTON, Texas -- A witness to the fatal shooting of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo by a federal immigration agent in Houston said Thursday he is traumatized and unable to sleep, especially since he says Salgado Araujo never posed a threat to officers and was going to surrender when his van was stopped. ICE, in its initial statement early this month, said Salgado Araujo rammed into a law enforcement vehicle and refused to follow commands before an agent fired his weapon in self-defense. "That's a lie," Jose Trinidad Rojas Pliego, 51, a passenger in the van who was released from ICE custody Wednesday, said in an exclusive interview with CNN airing on Erin Burnett OutFront. Rojas Pliego told CNN's Ed Lavandera he was devastated by the agents' tactics, noting the van's three passengers were forcefully removed from the vehicle and Salgado Araujo was mortally wounded, pulled out of the vehicle, thrown to the ground and lifted up to be handcuffed. Rojas Pliego entered the US in 1998, according to court documents.
Scoop News DeskHouston, Texas ยท Published Updated
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The case was the latest in which someone was severely injured or killed this year after being shot by a federal immigration enforcement agent - and raises questions again about who is targeted in a nationwide immigration crackdown the Trump administration says aims to remove dangerous criminals.
