Bodycam footage challenges ICE account in fatal South Padre Island shooting

Body-worn camera footage and agency records made public in March show the blue Ford Fusion driven by 23-year-old Ruben Ray Martinez was stationary or moving at a very low speed with brake lights illuminated when an HSI agent fired through the driver-side window, a sequence that directly contradicts Homeland Security assertions that Martinez “accelerated forward” and “intentionally ran over” an agent.

Martinez was shot multiple times, pulled from the vehicle, placed face down and handcuffed. Medical personnel did not appear to render care until after he was restrained. He was taken to Valley Regional Medical Center and pronounced dead at 1:27 a.m. The Texas Department of Public Safety has released more than 160 pieces of evidence tied to the case, and the Texas Rangers continue an active inquiry. A Texas grand jury declined to return criminal indictments in February 2026.

Internal ICE records obtained by watchdog group American Oversight asserted an agent had been struck when Martinez “accelerated forward.” DHS officials publicly described the officer’s actions as “defensive shots” after Martinez “intentionally ran over” another agent. Those official characterizations are at odds with the bodycam frames showing an agent standing at the driver’s side as the first shot was fired and the vehicle’s brake lights on at the moment of the gunfire.

Lawyers representing a person identified in agency filings as Reyes reviewed the footage and issued a blunt assessment. “These new videos confirm that Ruben's car was barely moving when he was shot. That he was braking, not accelerating. That nobody was on the hood of his car. That nobody was in front of his car when he was shot. That he was shot at point-blank range through his side window by an ICE agent who was in no danger,” Charles M. Stam and Alex Stamm wrote.

A passenger in Martinez’s car that night, identified as Joshua Orta, provided statements to investigators that the occupants were attempting to comply with commands and that Martinez did not strike anyone. Orta had been expected to sign a sworn statement for the Martinez family’s legal team that would contradict DHS’s account, but he died in an unrelated car crash in February 2026 before any public filing was completed.

Local authorities initially reported Martinez’s death in March 2025, yet federal involvement was not publicly acknowledged until internal agency records surfaced nearly 11 months later in February 2026. The delayed disclosure has drawn criticism from Martinez’s family and lawmakers, including Representative Joaquin Castro, who has demanded a full congressional investigation and “complete transparency.”

Key factual disputes remain unresolved: agency documents and statements assert Martinez struck an officer, while the primary visual record now available appears to show the vehicle braking and an agent positioned at the driver-side window when shots were fired. Investigators and attorneys have flagged discrepancies in agent identification across files; some materials reference an agent named Sosa while other filings cite Reyes, and public records do not yet reconcile those names with a single shooter.

Officials have not released a full unredacted timeline or the complete set of original body-worn camera files and internal ICE reports. The case now hinges on forensic review of the videos, medical and EMS records documenting timing of care, and clarification from federal authorities about how their contemporaneous reports square with the footage now in the public record.