US citizen who was shot by immigration agent in Chicago files lawsuit alleging he fired from behind

CHICAGO (AP) — An American citizen shot by a Customs and Border Protection agent one year ago during a sweeping immigration crackdown in Chicago filed a lawsuit against the federal government on Monday, alleging the agent lied about the shooting and fired into her vehicle from behind. Federal prosecutors initially accused Marimar Martinez, then 30, of using her vehicle to strike and box in agent Charles Exum’s SUV on Chicago’s southwest side on Oct. 4, 2025, during “Operation Midway Blitz.” Exum then exited his car and opened fire, leaving Martinez with seven gunshot wounds.

In the month after the shooting, prosecutors filed to dismiss the charges in a dramatic reversal of the closely watched case in the nation’s third-largest city. Agent fired into rear of car, attorneys say Her lawyers said Monday that they commissioned an expert to analyze bullet trajectories and her injuries and determined Exum wasn’t in the path of her car when he opened fire. They said he had walked several feet toward her car, contrary to statements he made to the FBI, and fired off five shots in less than a second, the last from the rear side of her vehicle.

“Charles Exum told the FBI agent on that day, within hours of the shooting, that Marimar was driving her car directly at him, that he shot her five times through the windshield, and that he ceased firing once he was no longer in the path of the vehicle. Those are three objective lies that you’ll see here today,” said one of her attorneys, Chris Parente. Parente said there were only three bullet holes in Martinez’ windshield on the right passenger side, which indicated Martinez wasn’t driving toward the agent.

He said the fourth shot was fired through the front passenger side window, adding another bullet hole in the back of Martinez’ car seat showed the agent fired the fifth shot from behind her. law enforcement officer stand behind a car and fire his Glock service weapon through the rear passenger window at a young woman who’s crouched over the steering wheel?” Parente said. CBP said in a statement to The Associated Press in response to the suit that Exum had been placed on administrative leave.

Use-of-force incidents are “thoroughly investigated, reviewed, and presented” to an independent board, it added. Exum is not a defendant in the lawsuit against the federal government, which was filed under the …