A U.S. Border Patrol agent who shot a Chicago woman multiple times during a confrontation last month bragged about his marksmanship in text messages to colleagues, according to evidence presented Wednesday at a federal court hearing.
The agent, Charles Exum, of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), shot Marimar Martinez, a U.S. citizen, five times on October 4 in Chicago’s Brighton Park neighborhood after their vehicles collided.
Exum claimed Martinez rammed his government-issued Chevy Tahoe with her car, while Martinez maintains that the agent’s vehicle struck hers first.
Federal prosecutors have described the shooting as self-defense, but Martinez and another defendant, Anthony Ian Santos Ruiz, were charged on October 10 with impeding a federal officer with a deadly weapon, Martinez’s vehicle.
Both were released on bond and attended Wednesday’s hearing.
Court records revealed that Exum sent messages in a private Signal chat group with other agents, writing: “I fired 5 rounds and she had 7 holes. Put that in your book, boys.” In a separate message attached to a news article about the shooting, he added: “Read it. 5 shots, 7 holes.”
When questioned about the messages by Martinez’s attorney, Christopher Parente, Exum replied, “I’m a firearms instructor, and I take pride in my shooting skills.”
The hearing also raised questions about potential evidence tampering involving Exum’s vehicle.
After the incident, Exum drove the Tahoe more than 1,000 miles to Calais, Maine, where it was repaired by a CBP mechanic before defense lawyers could examine it.
He testified that the FBI had taken photographs and paint samples before releasing the vehicle to him without restrictions.
Government attorneys submitted an email from Exum’s supervisor, Kevin Kellenberger, approving the repairs. However, Parente pointed to an FBI interview transcript in which Exum reportedly said he had personally requested the repairs.
Exum dismissed the discrepancy, claiming the interviewing agent “made a mistake.”
Defense lawyers argued that Exum’s experience as a federal officer should have alerted him to the need to preserve the vehicle as evidence. Exum said he believed that since the FBI had released it, preservation was unnecessary.
The October 4 shooting sparked protests in Brighton Park, where demonstrators denounced federal immigration raids under Trump’s “Operation Midway Blitz,” an enforcement surge that began in September.
Witnesses said agents deployed tear gas to disperse the crowd that gathered after the shooting.
The case has intensified scrutiny of federal enforcement tactics in Chicago, as defense attorneys accuse agents of reckless behavior and the destruction of key evidence in an already politically charged atmosphere.
Source: Reuters
Written By Rodney Mbua
