Images Released of Shooting of American Man During Immigration Operation
Posted on 03/09/26 at 12:54
- Ruben Ray Martinez shooting video raises questions about official account
- Federal agents shoot U.S. citizen
- Family demands accountability
New footage released by authorities in Texas has reignited debate over the death of a U.S. citizen who was shot by federal agents.
The Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) quietly released several body camera and security videos late Friday night.
The recordings relate to the case in which federal immigration agents shot and killed Ruben Ray Martinez.
Martinez was 23 years old and originally from San Antonio.
What does the video of the South Padre Island shooting show?
The incident occurred last year in South Padre Island.
The videos show Ruben Ray Martinez driving slowly past federal agents who were stopping traffic.
At several points he appears to interact with them while the vehicle’s brake lights remain on.
Seconds later, gunshots can be heard.
The footage was reviewed by The Texas Tribune.
Videos do not confirm federal agents’ version
Video of the March 2025 fatal shooting of U.S. citizen Ruben Ray Martinez obtained by CBS News appears to contradict claims by federal officials that Martinez was shot by an ICE agent because he «accelerated» and «intentionally ran over» another agent.https://t.co/Ao6YMBuKSR
— Camilo Montoya-Galvez (@camiloreports) March 7, 2026
The recordings of the shooting do not show Ruben Ray Martinez striking a federal agent with his vehicle.
That has been the version repeatedly stated publicly by Homeland Security Investigations.
However, the videos also do not clearly prove that the collision did not occur.
The footage comes from different angles.
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Some segments lack audio, and others do not fully capture what happened.
The federal agent involved was not wearing a body camera.
This leaves significant gaps in reconstructing the moments leading up to the shooting.
The lack of direct footage has raised questions about what happened in the seconds before the gunfire.
Family demands more evidence and accountability
Newly released bodycam from South Padre Island, TX: HSI agents stop Ruben Ray Martinez for questioning.
Martinez accelerates forward in the middle of the conversation, fleeing the agent at the driver’s window.
Another agent attempts to stop him and is attempting to open his… pic.twitter.com/MqHtm1Q24h
— Kim «Katie» USA (@KimKatieUSA) March 7, 2026
Attorneys for Ruben Ray Martinez’s family argue that the footage does not support the official account.
According to them, it also does not confirm that Martinez disobeyed agents’ orders.
The government’s version states that Martinez accelerated his vehicle and struck an agent, which would have justified the use of deadly force.
Attorneys Charles Stam and Alex Stamm rejected that explanation.
“This set of evidence shows no justification for Ruben’s death,” they said in a statement.
They added that the public has not yet seen all the evidence held by the government.
Rubén Ray Martínez was shot multiple times in March of last year.
The case is considered the first known incident in which agents of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security killed a U.S. citizen during the second administration of Donald Trump.
The episode prompted Democratic lawmakers to demand greater accountability.
The incident remained largely unknown for months.
Information about it surfaced recently after the organization American Oversight released hundreds of pages of documents about the use of force by immigration agents.
The organization obtained the documents through a lawsuit.
Initially, the police department in South Padre Island issued only a brief press release.
The statement confirmed Martinez’s death but did not identify the federal agency responsible.
Public records requests also did not immediately reveal federal involvement.
A police report consisting of only two sentences stated that Martinez had struck an agent with his vehicle.
The document did not mention the shooting.
According to his family, Martinez had traveled to South Padre Island to celebrate his birthday with friends.
His mother, Rachel Reyes, has demanded explanations.
Reyes has publicly described herself as a supporter of Donald Trump.
Even so, since learning about the involvement of federal agents in her son’s death, she has called for an end to “abuse and impunity.”
Martinez’s death occurred months before protests erupted over other similar incidents.
Later, two U.S. citizens in Minnesota were also killed after being shot by federal immigration agents, further intensifying the national debate over the use of force by immigration authorities.
