Chicago Woman Survives 5-Shot Attack by CBP Officer Files Federal Lawsuit

Chicago woman shot 5 times by CBP officer files federal lawsuit. New evidence claims agent wasn't in danger.

October 6, 2026 One Min Read

POLICY WIRE — Chicago, United States — A Chicago woman who survived being shot five times by a U.S. Border Patrol agent has filed a federal civil lawsuit against the government, claiming new evidence shows the officer was not in danger and should face criminal charges.

The incident occurred in October 2025 when Marimar Martinez, a teaching aide at a Montessori school, was shot in her car by Customs and Border Protection agent Charles Exum during the Trump administration’s Operation Midway Blitz, a mass immigration enforcement operation in Chicago. The lawsuit was filed one year after the shooting, under the Federal Tort Claims Act, which allows citizens to sue the U.S. government.

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Attorneys for Martinez allege negligence, battery, assault, intentional infliction of harm, emotional distress, false arrest, false imprisonment, and malicious prosecution. They also urged the Department of Justice to pursue criminal charges against Exum. According to the attorneys, an independent investigation showed that Exum fired without justification and was not in danger at the time of the shooting. Surveillance footage and bullet analysis suggest he was not in front of the vehicle when he opened fire, contradicting his initial claims.

Reporting by Policy-Wire (PW)

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