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Martinez said that Exum’s car rammed hers after she was warning the neighborhood’s residents about the presence of federal immigrant agents. Federal prosecutors are claiming that Exum’s actions, including his shooting at Martinez, were done in self-defense. Martinez and Ruiz were indicted October 10. At the hearing, Exum’s messages from a Signal chat with other agents were shown, in which he said, “I fired 5 rounds and she had 7 holes. Put that in your book boys.” He also sent a news article about the incident to a different recipient with the message, “Read it. 5 shots, 7 holes.” When Martinez’s lawyer Christopher Parente asked Exum in court what he meant, the agent said, “I’m a firearms instructor and I take pride in my shooting skills.”
