A grieving mother who once backed Donald Trump is demanding answers after newly released body camera footage revealed the chaotic moments before an ICE agent fatally shot her 23-year-old son.
The videos, released by the Texas Department of Public Safety, show the tense moments before the shooting in the coastal community of South Padre Island on 15 March 2025. The footage has reignited debate over the circumstances of the incident and prompted fresh calls for transparency and accountability from Martinez's family.
His mother, Rachel Reyes, who voted for Donald Trump in the 2024 presidential election, has now publicly demanded reforms to address what she describes as a troubling pattern of 'abuse and impunity' within federal immigration enforcement agencies.
Rachel Reyes voted for President Trump. But after her 23-year-old son Ruben Ray Martinez was shot and killed by an ICE agent, she told us reforms are needed to end “abuse and impunity.”Texas officials are set to release records on the shooting [email protected]/mM8A7YaHxl
According toreports, Martinez was driving a blue Ford Fusion near the site of a road accident where ICE officers were helping direct traffic when the fatal encounter occurred. In the body camera footage, he is seen rolling down his window and speaking with officers before slowly moving his car forward towards an intersection.
Moments later, officers can be heard shouting 'Where is he going?' as the vehicle begins to move. Gunshots ring out seconds afterwards.
The footage, captured from several yards behind the vehicle, does not clearly show whether any officer was struck by the car before the shots were fired, leaving crucial details open to interpretation. The videos were released publicly after Texas authorities had previously declined to share them with journalists or the public.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which oversees ICE, previously said Martinez 'accelerated forward' and 'intentionally ran over' an agent, prompting another officer to fire 'defensive shots'. However, attorneys representing Martinez's family argue that the footage contradicts the official account.
Lawyers Charles Stam and Alex Stamm said the recordings raise serious doubts about the federal government's version of events. 'These new videos confirm that Ruben's car was barely moving when he was shot,' they said in a statement.
'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.'
Source: International Business Times UK
