<div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Newly released records show a </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/usa" rel="" target="" title="US "><span>US </span></a><span>citizen was shot and killed in </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/texas" rel="" target="" title="Texas"><span>Texas</span></a><span> by a federal immigration agent last year during a late-night traffic encounter that was not publicly disclosed by the Department of Homeland Security.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The death of Ruben Ray Martinez, 23, would mark the earliest of at least six deadly shootings by federal officers since the start of a nationwide immigration crackdown in President </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/donald-trump" rel="" target="" title="Donald Trump"><span>Donald Trump</span></a><span>’s second term. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>On Friday, DHS said the shooting on South Padre Island last March occurred after the driver intentionally struck an agent.</span></div></div><div><div id="adspot-mobile-medium"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE: </span></strong><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/man-charged-following-reservoir-homicide/1cb00396-15c9-48ba-876b-cff50c5897d8"><strong><span>Man charged with murder after woman hit by car in Melbourne's north</span></strong></a><span></span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The shooting involved a Homeland Security Investigations team that was conducting an immigration enforcement operation in conjunction with local police, according to documents obtained by American Oversight, a nonprofit watchdog group based in Washington.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The records are part of a tranche of heavily redacted internal documents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement that the nonprofit obtained as part of a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Though Martinez's death on March 15, 2025, was reported by local media outlets at the time, federal and state authorities did not disclose that the shooting involved the team from HSI. </span></div></div><div><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-reactroot="" data-src="//www.9news.com.au/world/usa-texas-man-was-shot-by-a-federal-immigration-agent-last-year/fee3a50d-d38a-48c1-8697-ad35cbfabd7f" data-widget-id="AR_5"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>In a statement on Friday, DHS said the driver who was killed “intentionally ran over a Homeland Security Investigation special agent,” resulting in another agent firing “defensive shots to protect himself, his fellow agents, and the general public.”</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The department did not respond to questions about why it had made no media release or other public notification of the officer-involved shooting over the last 11 months.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Martinez's mother, Rachel Reyes, said her son was just days past his 23rd birthday when he and his best friend drove from San Antonio down to the beach for the weekend to celebrate. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>South Padre Island, located on the Gulf Coast just north of the US-Mexico border, is a renowned spring break destination that attracts tens of thousands of college-aged partiers each March.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE: </span></strong><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/andrew-mountbattenwindsor-arrested-former-prince-andrew-is-eighth-in-line-to-the-throne-can-he-be-removed/88c5ea35-e056-4c90-89eb-0cfcff9fe124"><strong><span>UK government considering removing former prince from the line of succession</span></strong></a><span></span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Martinez worked at an Amazon warehouse, liked to play video games and hang out with friends. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>His mother said he had never had any prior run-ins with law enforcement.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>“He was a typical young guy,” Reyes told The Associated Press.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span> “He never really got a chance to go out and experience things. It was his first time getting to go out of town. He was a nice guy, humble guy. And he wasn’t a violent person at all.”</span></div></div><div class="styles__Wrapper-sc-2o34ro-0 cmwkBV"><div class="styles__Column-sc-2o34ro-3 jJDKrX"><a href="/content/2025/02/20/12/21/today-in-history-february-21-what-happened-on-this-day"><img alt="" sizes="(min-width: 1024px) 636px, (min-width: 768px) 396px, 100vw" src="https://imageresizer.static9.net.au/1PLjZFVCCHOkWEQDbmPUDwq81vc=/396x223/https%3A%2F%2Fprod.static9.net.au%2Ffs%2Fa3ba2455-b75a-40d6-9123-8a6599098f7b" srcset="https://imageresizer.static9.net.au/1PLjZFVCCHOkWEQDbmPUDwq81vc=/396x223/https%3A%2F%2Fprod.static9.net.au%2Ffs%2Fa3ba2455-b75a-40d6-9123-8a6599098f7b 396w, https://imageresizer.static9.net.au/FwFYEVGOL7_9iERA_Nrn9UnU1os=/636x358/https%3A%2F%2Fprod.static9.net.au%2Ffs%2Fa3ba2455-b75a-40d6-9123-8a6599098f7b 636w"/></a></div><div class="styles__Column-sc-2o34ro-3 jJDKrX"><div class="styles__Headline-sc-2o34ro-4 hpbOlz">When CIA agent bought a house in cash, co-workers got suspicious</div><div class="styles__Button-sc-2o34ro-1 eBjlmW"><a class="styles__ButtonLink-sc-2o34ro-2 hqpklJ" href="/content/2025/02/20/12/21/today-in-history-february-21-what-happened-on-this-day">View Gallery</a></div></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><h3><span>Records show federal agents were assisting police</span></h3></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>According to an internal two-page ICE incident report included in the newly disclosed documents, shortly after midnight, HSI officers were assisting South Padre Island police by redirecting traffic through a busy intersection after a vehicle accident with several injuries.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/donald-trump-judges-tariff-decision-usa-news-latest-supreme-court/bbbd3c3d-82fc-436a-8654-9cc7e5d26527" rel="" target="" title=" 'I can destroy the country': Trump's rant after Supreme Court strikes down his key policy"><strong><span> 'I can destroy the country': Trump's rant after Supreme Court strikes down his key policy</span></strong></a><strong></strong></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>A blue, four-door Ford with a driver and passenger approached the officers, who ordered the driver to stop. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The report does not say why. Initially, the driver didn't respond to commands but did eventually come to a stop, according to the report.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Agents then surrounded the vehicle, telling those inside to get out, but the driver “accelerated forward” and struck an HSI special agent “who wound up on the hood of the vehicle,” the report said. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>An HSI supervisory special agent standing by the side of the car then fired his weapon multiple times through the open driver’s side window, and the vehicle stopped.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Paramedics already on the scene of the accident quickly provided medical aid and the driver was taken by ambulance to a regional hospital in Brownsville, where he was pronounced dead, according to the report. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The passenger, also a US citizen, was taken into custody.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The HSI officer who the report says was struck by the vehicle was treated for an unspecified knee injury at a nearby hospital and released.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The names of the two HSI agents involved in the shooting and the names of the two men in the car were all redacted from the ICE report, but Reyes confirmed the dead driver was her son. She said he was shot three times.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE: </span></strong><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/raptor-squad-charge-two-alleged-gunmen-in-greenacre-shooting-under-strike-force-halesowen/61132c6d-38aa-472b-b4a6-50b6fde422a4"><strong><span>Alleged gunmen charged in shooting of former NRL player</span></strong></a><span></span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><h3><span>State investigation into shooting is still ‘active’</span></h3></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The report says the Texas Rangers responded to the shooting scene and took the lead as the primary agency investigating the shooting.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Reyes said she first learned her son had been shot by a federal agent, rather than a local police officer, about a week after he was killed. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>She was contacted by an investigator from the Rangers who she said told her there were videos of the shooting that contradicted the account provided by federal agents. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>DHS did not immediately respond to an email on Friday about the claim that there is video showing a different account.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>She said she was told by the investigator that the state report into the shooting was completed in October and that the case would be presented to a grand jury for potential criminal charges.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The Texas Department of Public Safety, which includes the Rangers, said in a statement on Friday that the investigation into the shooting is still “active” and declined to offer more information.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE: </span></strong><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/andrew-mountbatten-windsor-arrested-uk-police-continue-search-of-royal-homes/d269f6aa-b17b-4842-b3d2-2df9de9617e2"><strong><span>'Not over yet': Anxious wait for Andrew as police continue search</span></strong></a><span></span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Messages left with the office of Cameron County District Attorney Luis V. Saenz, an elected Democrat whose jurisdiction includes South Padre Island, received no response on Friday. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>South Padre Island Police Chief Claudine O’Carroll also did not respond to requests for comment.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Attorneys for the family said on Friday they have spent the past year pursuing accountability and transparency.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>“It is critical that there is a full and fair investigation into why HSI was present at the scene of a traffic collision and why a federal officer shot and killed a US citizen as he was trying to comply with instructions from the local law enforcement officers directing traffic,” attorneys Charles M. Stam and Alex Stamm said in a statement.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><h3><span>Agents involved were part of a border task force</span></h3></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>According to the ICE report, the HSI agents involved in the shooting were part of a maritime border enforcement security task force typically focused on combating transnational criminal organizations at seaports. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Over the last year, however, officers from across multiple federal agencies have been reassigned to prioritise immigration enforcement.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>In January</span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/minneapolis-ice-shooting-renee-good-jonathan-ross-jd-vance-video/bf3fbd72-fc95-4a5f-a58e-ef20fd98315b" rel="" target="" title=", Renee Good, a 37-year-old mother in Minneapolis, was killed"><span>, Renee Good, a 37-year-old mother in Minneapolis, was killed</span></a><span> in the driver's seat of her SUV by ICE officer Jonathan Ross. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Trump administration officials initially attempted to paint Good as a “domestic terrorist” who tried to ram officers with her vehicle before multiple videos emerged of the incident that cast doubt on the government's narrative.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>As in the Good case, experts in police training and tactics questioned why a federal officer apparently positioned himself in front of Martinez's vehicle.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>“You don’t stand in front of the car, you don’t put yourself in harm's way,” said Geoffrey Alpert, a police use-of-force expert at the University of South Carolina. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>He added that there’s never a scenario where it’s justified, “because you don’t know whether this person is going to flee, and if he flees, you could be dead.”</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Alpert said investigators will likely review any available body camera video or other footage to examine how swiftly Martinez moved the car forward, if he merely took his foot off the break or pressed down hard on the accelerator.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Martinez's mother said she didn't believe he would ever intentionally assault a law enforcement officer.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>“They didn’t give him a chance," Reyes said. “It’s so excessive. They could have done anything else besides that. It’s like they shoot first and ask questions later.”</span></div></div>