US federal agents shot and killed two people and injured two people in Portland, Oregon. Portland is the city where President Donald Trump’s administration has been leading the charge on immigration enforcement.
The shooting marks the second time in less than a day that federal immigration authorities have said they fired at a vehicle in self-defense, following a deadly shooting in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
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On Thursday, Portland police said they responded to a report of a shooting on Southeast Main Street around 2:18 p.m. local time.
“Officers have confirmed that federal agents were involved in the shooting,” the city said in a statement.
Then, around 2:24 p.m. GMT, emergency responders received a call for assistance from a male gunshot victim near Northeast 146th Street and East Burnside in Portland’s Hazelwood neighborhood.
“Officers responded and found a man and woman suffering from apparent gunshot wounds,” the statement said. “Officers applied a tourniquet and called emergency medical personnel.”
The two shooting victims were taken to the hospital. Police said their condition remains unknown because they were not involved in the shooting.
The FBI’s local office confirmed the shooting in a now-deleted social media post and said Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers were involved in the incident.
“This remains an active and ongoing investigation led by the FBI,” the FBI office in Portland said in a post.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) later provided its own explanation of what happened, describing the shooting as self-defense during a “targeted vehicle stop.”
DHS said in a social media post that the target was a passenger traveling in the vehicle who was “affiliated with the transnational Tren de Aragua prostitution ring and was involved in the recent shootings.” DHS claimed the driver was a member of the Venezuelan gang Torren de Aragua.
“When officers identified themselves as occupants of the vehicle, the driver armed the vehicle and attempted to run over law enforcement officers,” the Department of Homeland Security said in a post.
“Fearing for their lives and safety, detectives fired defensive shots. The driver drove off with a passenger inside and fled the scene.”
Second shooting involving agents
Details of Thursday’s shooting are unclear. But President Donald Trump’s administration has faced criticism for falsely reporting incidents of violence by federal agents as part of a nationwide immigration crackdown.
The Portland shooting occurred a day after Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents shot and killed Renee Nicole Good, a 37-year-old mother of three, in her car in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
“Just one day after a horrific incident of violence at the hands of federal agents in Minnesota, our community here in Portland is now facing another deeply disturbing incident,” Portland Mayor Keith Wilson said in a statement.
“We cannot stand by and watch constitutional protections erode and bloodshed increase.”
Goode’s death sparked widespread outrage and criticism that the Trump administration was rushing to spread misleading stories about the Minneapolis shooting.
Video of Good’s shooting showed the 37-year-old riding an SUV on a snowy Minneapolis road, waving at other drivers as he passed.
A vehicle carrying ICE agents pulled up next to her car, and the agents approached her and reached for the handle on her car door. One person approached her car. As her car turned and tried to drive away, agents fired multiple shots into the car, killing Good.
Again, Trump administration officials maintain that ICE agents acted in self-defense, even though the car did not appear to have made contact with his body.
President Trump claimed, without evidence, that Goode was a “professional agitator” who “violently, intentionally, and maliciously ran over an ICE officer.” Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem also accused Good of “domestic terrorism” despite there being no evidence Good ever intended to harm ICE officers.
Democratic officials have accused the Trump administration of spreading false stories to distract from its own abuses during the immigration crackdown.
Still, Portland officials reiterated calls for calm in the wake of Thursday’s shooting, while acknowledging similarities between the incidents.
“This case is still in its early stages,” Portland Police Chief Bob Day said in a statement.
“We understand that many people are feeling emotional and tense in the wake of the shooting in Minneapolis, but we ask members of the community to remain calm as we seek further information.”
Meanwhile, Mayor Wilson called for federal immigration agents to leave the city, claiming they had endangered local residents with their high-handed behavior.
“Portland is not a ‘training ground’ for militarized operatives, and the administration’s threat of ‘all out’ has deadly consequences,” Wilson said.
“As Mayor, I am calling on ICE to cease all operations in Portland until a full investigation is completed. Federal militarization undermines effective community-based public safety and goes against the values that define our region.”
Meanwhile, Oregon Sen. Jeff Merkley expressed “great concern” about the incident and suggested responding with anger would only further the Trump administration’s obsession with Portland.
“Trump wants to cause a riot,” he wrote. “Please don’t take the bait.”
Portland through a microscope
Portland has long been a focus of President Trump’s immigration enforcement efforts, and the increased federal presence has sparked largely nonviolent protests in response.
Portland, long considered a Democratic stronghold, was recognized in May as one of the “sanctuary zones” designated by the Trump administration for resisting immigration crackdowns.
The Republican president has indicated he may rush federal agents to the area in response.
Those threats appeared to come true in September, when President Trump posted on his Truth Social platform that he was sending the U.S. military to support immigration operations in the city.
The announcement came five days after President Trump declared Antifa, a loose anti-fascist movement, a “domestic terrorist organization.”
“I am directing Secretary of the Army Pete Hegseth to deploy all necessary military forces to protect war-torn Portland and the besieged ICE facilities from attacks by Antifa and other domestic terrorists,” President Trump wrote. “Full force is also permitted if necessary.”
It was the latest in a series of instances in which President Trump has sought to send federal troops to primarily Democratic urban areas such as Los Angeles and Chicago, Illinois.
Local officials denounced the deployment as a violation of the law and an abuse of administrative power. But the Trump administration has doubled down, saying Portland is rife with criminal activity.
“In Portland, Oregon, Antifa thugs have repeatedly attacked our employees and laid siege to federal property in an attempt to violently disrupt federal law enforcement,” President Trump said at a roundtable in October.
In response, some protesters in Portland began arriving wearing inflatable frog costumes to cast President Trump’s warnings against violent extremists as ridiculous. The protesters were dubbed the “Portland Frog Brigade” and sparked similar demonstrations across the country.
State and local leaders challenged President Trump’s military deployment in court, but on November 7, U.S. District Judge Karin Immergut permanently blocked the deployment.
In December, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected the Trump administration’s appeal to allow the National Guard to be stationed in areas where lower courts had prohibited it.
On Thursday, Mayor Wilson said he would protect the civil liberties of local residents and called for accountability for recent shootings.
“ICE officers and the leadership of the Department of Homeland Security must be thoroughly investigated and held accountable for the violence against American citizens in Minnesota, the city of Portland, and across the country,” he said.
He reiterated his message that Portlanders should not seek retribution after the shooting.
“Portland does not respond to violence with violence. We respond with clarity, unity, and a commitment to justice. We must come together to protect Portland.”
