The Border Patrol shooting of Marimar Martinez in Chicago and her lawsuit

Active · last development Oct 5, 2026: “US citizen who was shot by immigration agent in Chicago files lawsuit alleging he fired from behind”

Marimar Martinez, a US citizen and Chicago teacher, was shot five times by a Border Patrol agent on Chicago's southwest side in October 2025, during the immigration crackdown there. The federal charges against her were dismissed, and on the shooting's anniversary in 2026 she sued the government.[1][2]

Photo from FOX 8 Cleveland, with US citizen who was shot by immigration agent in Chicago files lawsuit alleging he fired from behind (Oct 5, 2026), the story with the most independent sources this week.
What this arc covers

The shooting of Marimar Martinez, a US citizen and Chicago teacher, by a Border Patrol agent during the 2025 immigration crackdown in Chicago: the assault charges against her and prosecutors' move to dismiss them, and her 2026 lawsuit alleging that the agent lied and fired into her vehicle from behind.

Earliest story we hold Nov 20, 2025 · 2 stories · 10 independent sources (counted once each) · 319 days

Background

On October 4, 2025, Border Patrol agent Charles Exum shot Marimar Martinez, a 30-year-old US citizen, after prosecutors said she and another driver, Anthony Ruiz, used their vehicles to strike and box in his vehicle on Chicago's southwest side; Exum later bragged about the shooting in texts.[1] A federal judge dismissed the case against Martinez and Ruiz with prejudice, meaning the charges cannot be refiled.[1] On the anniversary of the shooting, Martinez, a teacher, sued the government under the Federal Tort Claims Act, alleging that the agent lied about her using her car as a weapon and fired into her vehicle from behind.[2]

Supporting stories (2)
  1. Prosecutors move to dismiss charges against Chicago woman shot after ramming car at law enforcement vehicle
  2. US citizen who was shot by immigration agent in Chicago files lawsuit alleging he fired from behind

Overview updated Oct 7, 2026

Part of Shootings by immigration agents

  1. The Border Patrol shooting of Marimar Martinez in Chicago and her lawsuitThis arcNov 20, 2025 – Oct 5, 2026
  2. The killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti by immigration agents in MinneapolisDec 2, 2025 – Oct 1, 2026
  3. The killing of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo by an ICE officer in HoustonJul 7 – Aug 25, 2026
  4. The killing of Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero by an ICE officer in MaineJul 13 – Aug 18, 2026
  5. The shooting of Wilber Garces Perez by an ICE officer in AustinSep 20 – Oct 2, 2026

Where it standsnewest first · each bar runs left to right by leaning

Oct 5– 72026US citizen who was shot by immigration agent in Chicago files lawsuit alleging he fired from behind17 articles · 15 independent sources
2 left, 5 center, 0 right
Nov 202025Prosecutors move to dismiss charges against Chicago woman shot after ramming car at law enforcement vehicle13 articles · 13 independent sources
2 left, 3 center, 0 right

Who covered it, over timeindependent sources per week, by side

Nov 17Jan 19Mar 23Jun 1Aug 3Oct 5

LeftCenterRight

Point at or tap a week to see its count by side.

Every week as a table
Week ofLeftCenterRightArticles
Nov 17, 202523012
Oct 5, 202625016

Stories before June 28, 2026 come from archived pages, so who covered them is limited to the outlets we recovered for that period.

30% left · 70% center · 0% right of 10 independent sources among the outlets we track, across 2 stories.

Every storyoldest first

  1. November 2025

  2. October 2026

    Oct 5– 7US citizen who was shot by immigration agent in Chicago files lawsuit alleging he fired from behind17 articles · 15 independent sources
    2 left, 5 center, 0 right