Former Texas Southern football player Tyler Martinez was shot and killed July 11 in a parking garage just blocks from the university’s campus, according to the Houston Police Department. The university confirmed Martinez’s death in a statement earlier this week. Martinez was 24.
“Tyler was a young man who was loved by his teammates and his personality was larger than life,” Texas Southern football chief of staff Charles Nichols said in a statement. “In his mind, he was the best rapper on the team, and on the field, he was always trying to become a better football player. I will cherish our talks we had concerning life after football. I was so proud of him when he got his degree and started on his master’s degree. He will truly be missed because there was only one Tyler Martinez.”
Martinez appeared in 26 games as a defensive lineman, finishing his college career with 82 total tackles, including 8.5 tackles for loss and 5.5 sacks. He played in 11 games as a senior in 2022, recording 29 tackles with 2.5 for loss and 1.5 sacks. As a junior in 2021, he was the team’s second-leading tackler, finishing with 44 stops, 5.5 tackles for loss and a team-high 3.5 sacks.
A Texas Southern University student has been charged with murder in the shooting death of Martinez, according to KHOU-TV. Isaac Jasper Robinson, 22, was arrested after allegedly shooting Martinez during an altercation in a parking garage of a Houston apartment complex. Police said both men lived in the complex but did not know each other.
According to police, the confrontation began as a physical fight in the garage. Robinson initially fled the scene but later returned and confessed to the shooting, police said.
Details shared during Robinson’s court appearance last Saturday revealed new information about the incident. According to KHOU-TV, a judge said Martinez had Robinson pinned to the ground during the altercation but then got up and began to walk away. At that point, a woman retrieved a firearm from a vehicle and handed it to Robinson, who then shot Martinez multiple times, the judge said. Martinez died at the scene.
Robinson’s bond was set at $150,000.