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1/2 Death #25 He was a U.S. citizen. He was unarmed. And ICE shot him anyway. Three bullets. Through his driver’s side window. At point-blank range. Ruben Ray Martinez was 23 years old. He worked at an Amazon warehouse. He loved cars, video games, UFC fights. He was the light of his family’s home. He went to South Padre Island to celebrate his birthday. He never came back. ________________________________________ On March 15th, 2025—just after midnight—Ruben and his best friend came upon an accident scene on South Padre Island. There had been a crash. Local police were there. So were federal agents from Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), which operates under ICE. Not responding to a violent crime. Not stopping a terrorist. They were directing traffic. ________________________________________ What happened next lasted seconds. ICE agents surrounded Ruben’s car. They shouted conflicting commands—one telling him to move forward and another telling him to stop. One agent moved to his window. Another moved near the front of the vehicle—the controversial “Death Box” tactic, placing himself directly in the car’s path. And then— An ICE supervisor fired three shots into Ruben’s chest. No standoff. No chase. No escalation. Just a 23-year-old American citizen dying in his car. ________________________________________ After the shooting, the federal government offered a justification. The Department of Homeland Security said Ruben had “intentionally run over” an agent. The agent who fired the shots later wrote that he feared a “terrorist-style mass-casualty attack.” That framing matters. Because it turns a seconds-long roadside encounter into something else entirely— a justification built on the fear of mass violence. And once that label is applied, the use of deadly force becomes easier to defend— even if the underlying facts are unclear. ________________________________________ But now we have the video. And it tells a different story. Ruben’s car was not speeding. It was not charging forward. It was barely moving—if moving at all. His brake lights were on when the shots were fired. Witness testimony says he did not hit anyone. No officer was seriously injured. No mass-casualty threat existed. What the video shows is chaos. Confusion. Tight space. And then— Gunfire. ________________________________________ After Ruben was shot, it got worse. Agents dragged him out of the car. Forced him face down onto the ground. Handcuffed him. He lay there— not receiving immediate medical care— even though paramedics were already on scene. Minutes passed before aid was given. He later died at the hospital. ________________________________________ And then— The truth was buried. For nearly 11 months, the federal government did not publicly disclose that ICE had killed Ruben Ray Martinez. They knew. They documented it internally within days. But they did not tell the public. It only came out after outside groups forced the records into the open. ________________________________________ Ruben’s mother has been clear: Her son was not violent. He was not aggressive. He was not a threat. “He was the light of our house.” And now he is gone. ________________________________________ There was one person who saw everything. Ruben’s best friend. He was in the car that night. He was there when the shots were fired. He was the only civilian witness to what happened inside that vehicle. He could have told the grand jury what Ruben said. What Ruben did. Whether he was trying to comply. But he never got the chance. Before he could testify, Ruben’s best friend died in a separate car accident in early 2026. And with him— went the only firsthand civilian account of what happened in those final seconds. Before his death, he provided his attorney with a written statement: