Garland police have identified the man fatally shot during a failed carjacking attempt as 30-year-old Jose Ramirez, a Mexican national who was not a U.S. citizen or Garland resident.
The incident unfolded around 3:30 p.m. Sunday, May 3, near Highway 66 and Dairy Road. Ramirez first crashed his green car into two other vehicles on the highway, then fled to a nearby gas station where he tried to steal several cars by force.
Surveillance video captured him approaching a white sedan occupied by a family of eight, including children and a baby. He yanked the father from the driver’s seat in an attempt to take the vehicle. The father, acting in self-defense, drew a handgun and shot Ramirez during the struggle.
Ramirez was taken to a hospital, where he later died. Police say he was unarmed. No one in the family was injured.
Garland Police Lt. Pedro Barineau said the shooting appeared to be self-defense and “kind of all happened really fast.” Investigators say the father cooperated fully with detectives, and no charges are expected against him.
A witness who manages a nearby business described Ramirez as acting erratically and “not in his right state of mind” as he tried to break into vehicles moments earlier.
The case remains under investigation by the Garland Police Department, but authorities have described it as a clear example of a citizen defending his family during a violent crime.
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