Lorenzo Salgado Jr.
Role at the time: Son of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo; witness at a public forum led by Sen. Richard Blumenthal and Rep. Robert Garcia
Statement summary
Lorenzo Salgado Jr., a son of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, wrote in testimony for a public forum that DHS had not given the family straight answers, that DHS first said ICE targeted his father and then admitted he was never the intended target, that the three men in the van have directly disputed the claim that he weaponized his vehicle, and that the surveillance footage made public so far does not appear to show it.
“Although multiple investigations are currently under way, we still haven’t gotten straight answers from DHS about what happened. DHS first said ICE "targeted" our father — then admitted he was never their intended target at all. DHS also said he "weaponized" his vehicle — a claim the three men who were in the van with him have directly disputed, and one that the surveillance footage made public so far does not appear to show.”
Written testimony of Ronaldo Salgado and Lorenzo Salgado Jr. for the September 22, 2026 forum led by Sen. Richard Blumenthal and Rep. Robert Garcia. Each paragraph is marked with the initial of the brother it belongs to.
Why we used this label
The case asks whether the ICE officer was justified in fatally shooting Lorenzo Salgado Araujo. In this passage of written testimony, Lorenzo Salgado Jr. said DHS first said ICE targeted his father and then admitted he was never the intended target, that the three men in the van have directly disputed the claim that his father weaponized the vehicle, and that the surveillance footage made public so far does not appear to show it. He challenged the description used to justify the shooting, so we labeled it Challenged the characterization.