FBI searches van involved in ICE shooting for drugs, affidavit says 4%
By Michael Adkison20% Bianca Seward19%
7/15/2026, 10:11:16 PM
BS Summary: This article contains 8 faulty reasoning types, including Framing Effect, Negativity Bias, and Horn Effect, with Confirmation Bias as the most egregious example at 10.2% saturation with 69 hits. Analysis detected 267 faulty-reasoning hits from 679 analyzed words, generating a BS Score of 16.1% and a BS Rank of 4% (21,216 of 21,887 articles). This article is better (less manipulative) than 96.90% of the article peer group.
The FBI is investigating the presence of potential drugs in the van involved in last week’s fatal shooting of a Houston man by federal immigration officers, according to an affidavit obtained by <em>Houston Public Media.</em>
A search warrant, which Houston Mayor John Whitmire said was executed Wednesday morning, was filed in the Southern District Court of Texas by FBI special agent David McNeilly and signed by Judge Richard Bennett.
The search warrant alleges immigration officers discovered "what appeared to be a white crystal-like substance packaged in small bags."
Lorenzo Salgado Araujo was driving the van last Tuesday morning with three passengers when he was shot and killed by a U.S Immigration and Customs Enforcement Officer during what ICE called a “targeted enforcement operation.
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The League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), an advocacy organization, is representing Salgado Araujo’s family.
Speaking with <em>Houston Public Media</em>, David Cruz, a LULAC spokesperson, said that LULAC does not believe the drug allegations.
"It is shocking to see the audacity of this investigation in terms of the accusations being made," Cruz said.
"At this moment, we have to assume that much of what is being presented is to, again, set a narrative of criminalizing the victim."
In a statement to <em>Houston Public Media</em>, a spokesperson for the Harris County District Attorney's Office stated that the FBI did grant the DA's office access to the van independently of the search warrant's execution.
The DA’s office has been conducting its own investigation into the shooting at the local level.
The Texas Rangers also are investigating at the request of the Houston Police Department, according to Gov.
Greg Abbott.
The Office of Inspector General for the U.S.
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is conducting its own investigation into the shooting death, according to the FBI, which has said it is investigating a possible assault on a law enforcement officer.
RELATED: Detained men who witnessed fatal ICE shooting seek special visas to prevent deportation, attorneys say
Salgado Araujo was a 52-year-old father of three who was originally from Mexico.
He had been living in the United States for decades without legal immigration status, according to his family.
The ICE agents involved were not wearing body cameras, and no video footage of the shooting itself has surfaced.
Representatives with ICE have alleged Salgado Araujo "weaponized his vehicle" before an agent shot him in self-defense, a claim disputed by the others in the van with him, including his brother, Victor Salgado Araujo.
ICE's account echoes what has become a common refrain from the federal agency after fatal shootings by its agents, including one earlier this week in Maine.
The affidavit is the first reference to drugs or drug-related material in the case made by federal officials.
It's also the first public disclosure of a search warrant being executed on the vehicle, a week after Salgado Araujo's killing.
McNeilly wrote in the search warrant that while "the FBI would be authorized to conduct an inventory search of the vehicle" with probable cause, authorities opted to "seek [...] this warrant in abundance of caution."
According to the search warrant, ICE officers attempted to stop the van Salgado Araujo and the other occupants were in, but the driver "refused to stop and instead drove over a median in an apparent attempt to flee."
ICE officers said they did not pursue the vehicle, but "relocated it" and "again attempted to stop the vehicle."
According to the affidavit, McNeilly reportedly saw "several plastic bags with what appeared to be a white crystal-like substance" inside the van.
Photos included with the affidavit depict roughly five plastic bags, with three on the dashboard and two appearing to be on the floor of the vehicle.
Though the account of what happened on July 7 does not claim to be comprehensive, it makes no mention of Salgado Araujo or others in the van attempting to "weaponize" the vehicle, which an ICE spokesperson had claimed in the first hours after the killing.
<em>Shelby Rose contributed to this report</em>.
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