Overview
- In a March 24 letter, Representatives Greg Casar and Robert Garcia asked the DHS Office of Inspector General to investigate the shooting and any concealment of federal involvement, requesting a briefing by April 6.
- Ruben Ray Martinez, 23, was shot in March 2025 on South Padre Island, and records released this year identified HSI Special Agent Jack C. Stevens as the shooter in video that shows fire through the driver’s side window.
- DHS has said Martinez intentionally ran over an agent and that shots were defensive, while the family and the lawmakers say released footage shows the car stopped or moving slowly without a clear ramming attempt.
- A Cameron County grand jury declined to indict the agent, Texas DPS released local police body-camera video, and the HSI agent who fired was not wearing a body camera.
- Newsweek notes 23 people have been shot by DHS personnel over the past 14 months, which has fueled broader calls for oversight as Martinez’s family presses for transparency after the only civilian witness later died in a separate crash.