A memorial at the site where Lorenzo Salgado Araujo was fatally shot by ICE agents. The family of a Mexican construction worker who was fatally shot by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent in Texas has disputed federal claims that a "crystal-like" substance found in his van may have been methamphetamine, saying it was simply salt used to make homemade electrolyte drinks. Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, 52, was shot in the stomach by an ICE agent in Houston on 7 July. He had lived in the United States for 35 years. Federal investigators later obtained a warrant to search his van after telling a judge that plastic bags containing a "white crystal-like substance" found inside the vehicle could be methamphetamine. However, the family's lawyer, Ruby L Powers, told CNN that the substance was a homemade electrolyte mixture. "He puts it in a water bottle and makes his own Gatorade, an electrolyte mix," she said. Speaking to The New York Times, Powers said Salgado Araujo and his brother routinely mixed salt and lemon into water to stay hydrated while working outdoors in the Texas heat. She said the family was concerned that the release of the search warrant could influence public opinion before toxicology testing had been completed. When asked by CNN's John King why the warrant, which had initially been sealed, was later made public, Powers said she had not been given an explanation. "Experts have said that it's very unusual, of the way that it was sealed and then unsealed," she said. "I think ultimately, that's why we came out with the statement that we did. Even though it was the day of the visitation of Lorenzo... it was because of the impact on public opinion and just wanting to clear my client's name." Harris County District Attorney Sean Teare also questioned the suggestion that illegal drugs had been present in the van. In a statement to The New York Times, he said that, based on information gathered about the passengers, the allegation appeared inconsistent with the available evidence. The dispute comes amid broader questions over the circumstances surrounding Salgado Araujo's death. According to a video statement released by Aaron Reitz, the US attorney for the Southern District of Texas, ICE agents had initially been pursuing a different suspect when they attempted to stop Salgado Araujo's white van. Reitz said the driver initially fled by making a rapid U-turn over a median before agents located the vehicle again later that morning. He said officers surrounded the van and ordered Salgado Araujo to park. According to Reitz, the driver then shifted the vehicle into reverse before moving it forward while an officer was positioned next to, or partially inside, the van. An agent then fired a single shot. Two passengers who were in the van told a local member of Congress that the approaching officers did not identify themselves as law enforcement before opening fire. They also claimed the fatal shot was fired through the front passenger-side window, according to The New York Times. Local prosecutors and law enforcement officials have also expressed concern that they have been unable to conduct an independent investigation because they do not have access to key federal evidence.