2 Injured in Shooting Involving Federal Agents in Portland, Oregon
By Michael Loria, Thao Nguyen
Two people were injured on Jan. 8 in a shooting involving federal agents in Portland, Oregon, authorities said, prompting local leaders and law enforcement to plead for calm after tensions were heightened across the nation over the fatal shooting of a Minnesota woman by immigration agents a day earlier.
Portland police officers responded to a report of a shooting at around 2:18 p.m. local time, Portland Police Chief Bob Day said at an evening news conference. Officers confirmed that federal agents were involved in the shooting.
About six minutes later, police said officers received information that a man had been shot and had called for help in an area about 3 miles from the shooting scene. Officers discovered a man and woman with apparent gunshot wounds.
The victims were transported to a local hospital, according to Day. Their conditions were not immediately known, and officials did not disclose the names of the injured people.
In a statement on social media on Jan. 8, Homeland Security said Border Patrol agents were conducting a vehicle stop in Portland. The statement said the driver, a suspected member of the Tren de Aragua Venezuelan gang, attempted to “weaponize” his vehicle and run over the agents.
“When agents identified themselves to the vehicle occupants, the driver weaponized his vehicle and attempted to run over the law enforcement agents,” Homeland Security officials explained on X. “Fearing for his life and safety, an agent fired a defensive shot. The driver drove off with the passenger, fleeing the scene. This situation is evolving, and more information is forthcoming.”
Homeland Security officials added that the passenger of the vehicle was also affiliated with the gang and involved in a recent Portland shooting. The FBI and Homeland Security officials did not immediately respond to USA TODAY’s requests for information.
The shooting came just a day after a federal agent from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement fatally shot Renee Nicole Good, a 37-year-old mother of three, in her car in Minneapolis. That shooting prompted two days of protests in Minneapolis.
Oregon Department of Justice investigating shooting
Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield said the Oregon Department of Justice is investigating the shooting in Portland that injured two and involved federal agents.
“We have been clear about our concerns with excessive use of force by federal agents in Portland and nationally. We have also been clear about our intent to investigate circumstances involving federal agents to ensure they are accountable to acting within the scope of their official duties,” Rayfield said in a news release. “Today’s incident only heightens the need for transparency and accountability.”
The release said the investigation will probe whether “any federal officer acted outside the scope of their lawful authority.” Cases may be referred to the Multnomah County district attorney if evidence of criminal conduct is found.
Portland police chief: Local authorities don’t ‘know the facts of this case’
During the news conference, Day said local police “do not know the facts of this case” related to the shooting, but are offering assistance to federal authorities who are conducting the investigation.
“This is a federal investigation. It’s being led by the FBI. We have been in touch with them,” Day said. “This is their responsibility… We, at this time, do not know if this is an immigration related event.”
Day noted that Portland police were not involved in the shooting and have not been involved in immigration operations in the city.
State and local officials call for an independent investigation
Portland Mayor Keith Wilson called on U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to halt all operations in Portland until a full and independent investigation is completed.
“We know what the federal government says happened here,” Wilson said at the news conference. “There was a time when we could take them at their word. That time is long past.”
Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek echoed the mayor and said federal agents in the community were “shattering trust.”
“The attorney general and other leaders have been clear about our concerns with the excessive use of force by federal agents in Portland, and today’s incident only heightens the need for transparency and accountability,” she said. “Oregonians deserve clear answers.”
Earlier on Thursday, Multnomah County Chair Jessica Vega Pederson said the county Board of Commissioners unanimously voted to extend an emergency declaration in response to the “ongoing harm of ICE activity” in the area.
“Multnomah County will not stand by as federal governments attack our neighbors,” Pederson said. She also urged the FBI, which is leading the investigation, to allow local law enforcement to participate and be transparent to local officials.
Report: ICE told agents to take ‘decisive action’ if threatened
A Dec. 12 email obtained by The New York Times revealed that federal immigration officials had advised agents to remain vigilant about protesters and be “prepared to take appropriate and decisive action should you be faced with an imminent threat.”
The email cited an increase in protest activity and threats against federal officers, according to the newspaper. The email also reminded agents to “maintain a heightened sense of awareness of your surroundings” and to call 911 in case of an emergency.
In President Donald Trump’s second term, immigration and other federal agents have been sent to several Democrat-led cities that the president has claimed are overrun by violent crime and illegal immigration. Cities, including Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., Portland, Oregon, and Chicago, have been targets.
The operations have prompted widespread protests, arrests, and sometimes clashes between demonstrators and law enforcement. Local authorities have in several cases called the Trump administration’s characterization of crime in their cities as exaggerated, and some have recently demanded that ICE be removed from their cities.
Oregon senator calls for ICE to ‘get the hell out of our community’
Oregon state Senate Majority Leader Kayse Jama, D-Portland, echoed calls against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
“We do not need you,” Jama said during the news conference. “You’re not welcome here and you need to get the hell out of our community.”
Jama’s message came after Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey gave fiery comments at a news conference after the fatal shooting of a woman by immigration agents on Jan. 7.
City official: Shooting victims are husband and wife
Following the City Council meeting, District 1 Councilor Jamie Dunphy said two neighbors were injured in the shooting, and they’re “sitting in a hospital bed and hopefully will make it home.”
“I’m furious,” Dunphy explained, adding that the wounded pair are husband and wife.
During the meeting, City Council President Elana Pirtle-Guiney said the victims were “still alive, and we’re hoping for more positive updates.”
Shooting in Oregon latest involving immigration agents
The shooting in Portland is just the latest involving federal agents carrying out Trump’s immigration enforcement crackdown around the country.
On Jan. 7, Good was fatally shot by immigration agents in Minneapolis. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said Good “weaponized” her SUV to run over agents in an act of “domestic terrorism.” Local officials, citing video of the incident, vehemently disputed Noem’s account and called for the officer involved to be arrested.
In Maryland on Dec. 24, two people were wounded during an immigration enforcement action when the driver of the vehicle attempted to run over federal agents. Agents at the scene shot the driver, and he crashed the vehicle. The passenger was wounded in the crash.
Silverio Villegas-Gonzalez, a 38-year-old Mexican immigrant, was shot and killed by federal agents outside Chicago on Sept. 12. Homeland Security officials said the man resisted arrest and dragged an agent with his car. Video evidence from the scene shows the agent describing his wounds as “nothing major.” Villegas-Gonzalez’s lawyer and others have called for a full investigation into the shooting.
Another person was shot in the Chicago area on Oct. 4. Marimar Martinez, a 31-year-old U.S. citizen, was shot and wounded by a federal agent on the city’s South Side. Prosecutors indicted Martinez on charges of assaulting a federal officer with her vehicle, but they dropped the charges after Supervisory Border Patrol agent Charles Exum testified that Martinez did not ram him.
Eyewitness: ‘There was just a shooting in the parking lot’
Japhet De Oliveira, a spokesperson for Adventist Health, told The Oregonian that police had responded to a shooting at the Adventist Health Portland campus.
Tina Henderson, who works in the medical office at the shooting scene, said a person ran into her suite to warn them about the shooting.
“You guys, be careful,” said Henderson, according to the newspaper. “There was just a shooting in the parking lot.”
Police chief asks community to ‘remain calm’
Officials said police responded to reports of a shooting at about 2:18 p.m. local time. The shooting, police said, was reported in the 10200 block of Southeast Main Street.
The wounded pair called emergency services for help at about 2:24 p.m. in the area of Northeast 146th Avenue and East Burnside. Officers responding to the second location found the wounded couple.
Police applied emergency medical assistance, and the pair was taken to a hospital. Police said they were not involved in the shooting.
“We are still in the early stages of this incident,” Day said. “We understand the heightened emotion and tension many are feeling in the wake of the shooting in Minneapolis, but I am asking the community to remain calm as we work to learn more.”
Both locations are closed to the public and are under investigation, police said.
‘Grappling with another deeply troubling incident’
Wilson said the pair were shot and injured in Hazelwood, a neighborhood in the Northeast and Southeast sections of Portland.
Wilson slammed Homeland Security officials for the shooting that came a day after a woman was fatally shot by immigration agents in Minneapolis.
“Just one day after the horrific violence in Minnesota at the hands of federal agents, our community here in Portland is now grappling with another deeply troubling incident,” Wilson said in a statement.
The mayor called on ICE to end all operations in the city until a full investigation into the shooting is completed. He also urged residents to remain calm and “stand together to protect Portland.”
“Portland is not a ‘training ground’ for militarized agents, and the ‘full force’ threatened by the administration has deadly consequences,” Wilson added. “Federal militarization undermines effective, community‑based public safety, and it runs counter to the values that define our region.”
Sen. Wyden: Trump’s deployment of federal agents ‘inflaming violence’
District Attorney of Multnomah County, Oregon, Nathan Vasquez, briefly spoke with reporters and confirmed to reporters outside the hospital that the FBI was at the scene.
Footage from local television stations showed Portland police assisting the FBI at the scene. Some FBI agents were seen in the hospital parking lot and going door-to-door in nearby residences.
“I’m very concerned about the events that have transpired here today,” Vasquez said. “We are here from the district attorney’s office to monitor, to assist, and to make sure that there’s a thorough and complete investigation.”
East Portland councilors said they were still waiting for more information on the shooting but noted that the incident was part of a “pattern of violence that we have seen too many times across our country.”
U.S. senators from Oregon both responded to the shooting in statements.
“Huge concern about a reported shooting of two individuals by federal agents outside Portland Adventist Hospital,” Sen. Jeff Merkley said in a post on X. “Please keep protests of Trump’s ICE/CBP peaceful, as Trump wants to generate riots. Don’t take the bait.”
Sen. Ron Wyden also said on X that he’s “monitoring the first awful reports” and that Trump’s “deployment of federal agents in my hometown is clearly inflaming violence — and must end.”
