Charles Exum
Role at the time: U.S. Border Patrol agent testifying in federal court
Defended or excused
Statement summary
Exum said he fired because he believed the shooting was necessary to save his life.
“I did what I had to do to save my life.”
Open source (opens in a new tab)Border Patrol agent appeared to brag about his accuracy after shooting Chicago woman five times, messages in court reveal · CNNCourt testimony section
CNN report on Exum’s federal-court testimony and the messages introduced during the hearing. The quoted statement directly states his claimed justification for firing.
Why we used this label
This directly justifies the shooting as self-defense.