POLICE: Marine Fighting for Life After Shot by Illegal Alien in Texas Bar

Police in San Antonio arrested an illegal alien after he allegedly shot a former Marine working as a security guard in a bar. The Marine, working as a security guard in a bar, is fighting for his life after he attempted to disarm the illegal alien.

More than a month later, Jimmy Friesenhahn, a 44-year-old Marine combat veteran, is fighting for his life in a San Antonio hospital after being shot while working as a security guard at the El Patio Sports Bar early on the morning of May 4. Police arrested Wilmer Vladmir Ortega Ruiz, a 29-year-old man who entered the U.S. illegally, for the shooting, News4SA reported.

As the suspect entered the sports bar, Friesenhahn attempted to search him for weapons. The two men struggled after the Marine allegedly found a handgun in the man’s pocket.

During the struggle, police say Ortega Ruiz shot Friesenhahn multiple times, striking him twice in his ballistic vest and once in the neck. The neck wound left the 14-year Marine Corps veteran paralyzed from a spinal cord injury and unable to speak, the article reports. Following the May 4 shooting, he has undergone six surgeries.

The New York Post reports that Friesenhahn’s family says Bexar County District Attorney Joe Gonzales’s Office is “soft-peddling the charges” after they reportedly let the attacker walk free on four prior arrests.

Friesenhahn is the father of a five-month-old girl and served in the Marine Corps for 14 years — including a combat tour in Iraq.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) officers placed an immigration hold on Ortega Ruiz due to his lengthy criminal history and record of no-shows on court appearances, the Post report states.

The New York Post reports:

Ortego Ruiz was first arrested in San Antonio and charged with a DWI in October 2020, according to court records. He was let go on a personal recognizance bond, but failed to show in court.

The Bexar County District Attorney’s office then downgraded the DWI charge to obstructing a passageway.

Ortega Ruiz pleaded guilty to that charge, but violated the terms of his probation and was arrested for a second time in August 2023.

He was let go again after posting a $1,500 bond amount and failed to show up in court for a later hearing.

The illegal migrant got collared a third time in September 2023 and bonded out for $1,500, again failing to show in court at a later hearing.

He was then arrested for a fourth time in November 2024 and sentenced to time served nearly three weeks later.

Ortega Ruiz was also allegedly the center of an assault investigation in which his girlfriend reported he physically attacked her, but he had fled the scene before cops arrived, law enforcement sources told The Post.

Friesenhahn’s brother-in-law Emmanuel Martinez told The Post, “Jimmy’s sacrifice saved people because there’s stories that the guy was going to go inside and do something in that place.”

His family set up a GoFundMe page to help raise money for Friesenhahn’s ongoing medical expenses and recovery.

As an illegal alien, Ortega Ruiz was prohibited from owning or possessing a firearm. Texas law also prohibits carrying a gun into a bar.

Bob Price is the Breitbart Texas-Border team’s associate editor and senior news contributor. He is an original member of the Breitbart Texas team. Price is a regular panelist on Fox 26 Houston’s What’s Your Point? Sunday morning talk show. He also serves as president of Blue Wonder Gun Care Products.