A decorated Marine veteran is fighting for his life, paralyzed from the waist down, after being shot by an illegal immigrant who had been arrested and released by authorities not once, but four separate times. The shocking incident underscores the growing outrage over the previous administration’s border failures and soft-on-crime policies that allow dangerous individuals to slip through the cracks of a broken immigration system repeatedly. Jimmy Friesenhahn, a Marine Corps veteran from Texas, is in critical condition after being shot by an illegal immigrant while working as a security guard. The 44-year-old father is now paralyzed and unable to speak. He has undergone six surgeries and remains in a fight for his life as his condition continues to deteriorate. Friesenhahn was shot three times—twice in the chest, where his bulletproof vest absorbed the impact, and once in the neck. The neck wound caused a complete spinal cord injury, as well as severe damage to his esophagus and vocal cords.
He was a security guard at the El Patio Sports Bar when he spotted Wilmer Vladmir Ortega Ruiz carrying a handgun in his pocket. Ortego Ruiz refused to give up the gun when Friesenhahn tried to confiscate it, resulting in an altercation between the two.
Ortega Ruiz was first arrested in San Antonio for driving while intoxicated in October 2020 but was released on a personal recognizance bond and later skipped his court date. Prosecutors in Bexar County reduced the charge to obstructing a passageway, to which he pleaded guilty. However, he violated his probation and was arrested again in August 2023. After posting a $1,500 bond, he was released again and again failed to appear in court. He was arrested a third time in September 2023, posted the same bond amount, and again skipped his court date. By November 2024, Ortega Ruiz was arrested for a fourth time and, within three weeks, was released after being sentenced to time served.
Although he was reportedly under investigation for assault after his girlfriend accused him of physically attacking her, the Bexar County District Attorney's office has so far only charged him with aggravated assault in connection with his most recent alleged crime, setting his bond at $200,000.
On May 4, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) issued a detainer for Ortega Ruiz, who authorities say illegally entered the U.S. as a “gotaway.”
My thoughts and prayers are with Jimmy Friesenhahn tonight, a Marine veteran and a Texan, who is fighting for his life after being shot by an illegal alien.
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) June 9, 2025
His attacker never should’ve been in our country. https://t.co/1LRkSdxKXj
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