Kristi Noem says agents fired in self-defense
Kristi NoemU.S. Secretary of Homeland Security
Noem said agents fired to protect themselves from an attacker.
“Our agents had to protect themselves and shots were fired and an individual ended up in the hospital that was attacking these officers.”
Reporting
Other statements by Kristi Noem in this case
- Noem conditionally agrees with Blumenthal's account but reserves judgmentLater: Mixed or conditional
Where this statement fits
Was Border Patrol Agent Charles Exum justified in shooting Marimar Martinez?
On October 4, 2025, U.S. Border Patrol Agent Charles Exum fired five rounds at Marimar Martinez’s vehicle during a confrontation involving the agents’ SUV and two civilian vehicles in Chicago’s Brighton Park neighborhood. A federal complaint alleged that Martinez and another driver struck and boxed in the agents’ vehicle and that Martinez then drove toward Exum. Martinez said Exum steered into her vehicle and shot her as she drove past or away. She sustained seven gunshot wounds. Federal prosecutors later dismissed the charges against Martinez with prejudice. An Illinois Accountability Commission review concluded that available video, photographs and witness evidence indicated Martinez was stationary or driving away and found reasonable cause to investigate a shooting without apparent justification. No publicly identified recording continuously captures the collision and gunfire, and no court has adjudicated whether Exum’s use of force was lawful. The dispute is whether Martinez posed an imminent threat when Exum fired.
Source and context
Reporting
About this source
Contemporaneous ABC News report quoting Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s explanation of why agents fired during the October 4 encounter.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Before the quotation
Noem described a confrontation in which she said vehicles cornered and threatened Border Patrol agents.
After the quotation
DHS identified Martinez as the injured driver and continued to characterize the encounter as an ambush.
How this statement is classified
The label describes this statement's response within the context above.
Why this label?
This explicitly presents the shooting as a defensive response to an attack.
- Recorded on
- Published here
- People and groups discussed
- Marimar Martinez
More from this case
Read the full caseParente says the shooting cannot be justified after presenting a reconstruction
“In what world could you justify that?”Read statement
Martinez says the violence should not become normal
“I want to spread awareness, because what's happening is not normal. We shouldn't stay here and normalize what's happening.”Read statement
Christopher Parente says reconstruction contradicts Exum's account
“He was behind it and shot her through the back”Read statement
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- Kristi Noem says agents fired in self-defense
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The Dispute Index. "Kristi Noem says agents fired in self-defense". First published: 2026-09-22. Last updated: 2026-09-22. https://disputeindex.com/events/1493-noem-said-agents-fired-to-protect-themselves-from