Joshua Ruiz was shot and killed on December 28, 2022. He was a 35-year-old Hispanic father from Houston who worked as a welder and spent evenings at a tattoo shop on Mesa Drive. He left behind three young children: daughters Nali, seven, and Alora, two, and son Zain, eight.

Witnesses saw Joshua laughing with a barber in a shop next to the tattoo parlor earlier that day. Investigators say a co-worker from the tattoo shop, 49-year-old Miguel Angel Gomez, had been in a conflict with the barber and allegedly misinterpreted the laughter as being directed at him. Authorities identified Gomez as the suspect, charged him with murder, and say he fled after the shooting. Gomez is a registered sex offender with an extensive arrest history and has used several aliases, including Tomas Garza, Jorge Alberto Gomez, Miguell Angel Gomez, and Mike Gomez. He may be in Edinburg, Texas.

As of November 2024 the search for Gomez was ongoing and the Texas Department of Public Safety had offered up to a $7,500 reward for information leading to his arrest. If anyone knew Joshua, his family, or has information about Miguel Angel Gomez’s whereabouts, please come forward.