politics
Federal prosecutor details moments before ICE officer shot driver in Houston
A U.S. attorney in Texas provided new information about a July 7 shooting that differs from an earlier Homeland Security account. The revised description does not mention a collision between the driver's van and a law enforcement vehicle.
Jul 18, 5:27 PM·1m read1 source
Los Angeles TimesAudio version
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A federal prosecutor in Texas released new details Thursday about the moments before an immigration officer shot and killed a 52-year-old man driving to a Houston construction site. Aaron Reitz, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Texas, said officers were targeting two Guatemalan men who might be subject to deportation and were driving a similar van.
Officers twice tried to stop the vehicle the man was driving, first with lights and later by surrounding it. Reitz stated that one agent was partially inside or next to the van when the driver attempted to reverse and then move forward. The latest account does not reference any collision with a law enforcement vehicle.
Earlier account and family response An earlier Homeland Security statement said the driver had rammed a law enforcement vehicle and that an officer fired in self-defense. The family described the man as a longtime resident seeking legal status after 35 years in the country.
Reitz added that officers saw small bags of a white crystal-like substance in the van and that the FBI later executed a search warrant. The driver's brother, who was a passenger, remains in ICE detention. The shooting occurred days before two other deaths in Florida and Maine during federal immigration enforcement actions.
