Second witness in Houston fatal ICE shooting is ordered released

Daniel Tirado Pantoja was one of three passengers riding in a work van when the driver, Lorenzo Salgado Araujo was shot July 7.

A second witness to a fatal shooting in Houston by a federal immigration agent has been ordered released from custody after more than a month in detention.

Daniel Tirado Pantoja was one of three passengers riding in a work van when the driver, Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, a Mexican national who ran a homebuilding business, was shot July 7. The Department of Homeland Security has said Salgado Araujo, who had lived without legal status in the U.S. for 35 years, had “weaponized his vehicle” and that the officer fired on him in self-defense.

U.S. District Judge Alfred Bennett in Houston ordered Tirado Pantoja released after finding that he had no criminal record and was neither a flight risk nor a danger to the community, according to court records.

“We’re very glad that Mr. Tirado is going to be reunited with his family,” said Ross Miller, an attorney for Tirado Pantoja.

Tirado Pantoja and another passenger, Jose Trinidad Rojas Pliego, have disputed accounts given by DHS about the confrontation with agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.