Federal immigration agents shot and wounded two people in a vehicle outside a hospital in Portland, Oregon, on Thursday, authorities said, the Associated Press reported.
The Portland shooting followed a Minnesota case in which, authorities said, an officer fatally shot a woman a day earlier. The shooting drew hundreds of protesters to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement building at night, according to AP.
Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield vowed to investigate “whether any federal officer acted outside the scope of their lawful authority” and said he would refer criminal charges to the prosecutor’s office if warranted, AP reported.
The Department of Homeland Security said the vehicle’s passenger was “a Venezuelan illegal alien affiliated with the transnational Tren de Aragua prostitution ring” who was involved in a recent shooting in the city. DHS said that during a “targeted vehicle stop” in the afternoon, agents identified themselves to the occupants, but the driver tried to run them over and then drove off with the passenger, fleeing the scene.
DHS said, “Fearing for his life and safety, an agent fired a defensive shot,” AP reported.
AP said there was no immediate independent corroboration of DHS’s account or of any gang affiliation of the vehicle’s occupants. AP also noted that past shootings involving agents from President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdowns, including a fatal one Wednesday in Minneapolis, have been followed by video evidence that has cast doubt on the administration’s characterizations of what prompted the shootings.
Portland police said officers initially responded to a report of a shooting outside Adventist Health hospital at 2:18 p.m. Thursday. A few minutes later, police received information that a man who had been shot was asking for help in a residential area a couple of miles away, and officers found a man and a woman with gunshot wounds. Police determined that they were injured in the shooting with federal agents, and officers applied a tourniquet to one of them, AP reported. Their conditions were not immediately known, Portland police said.
City Council President Elana Pirtle-Guiney told a meeting that “as far as we know, both of these individuals are still alive, and we are hoping for more positive updates throughout the afternoon,” AP reported.
At a nighttime news conference, Police Chief Bob Day said the FBI was leading the investigation and that he had no details about the events that led to the shooting, AP reported.
Mayor Keith Wilson and the City Council called on ICE to end all operations in Portland until a full investigation is completed. They said in a statement that “federal militarization undermines effective, community‑based public safety, and it runs counter to the values that define our region,” and that the city would use “every legal and legislative tool available to protect our residents’ civil and human rights.”
AP reported Wilson also said he does not necessarily believe the federal government’s account of the shooting: “There was a time we could take them at their word. That time is long past.”
Democratic State Sen. Kayse Jama, who said he lives near the location, told federal agents to leave. “You are not welcome,” Jama said. “You need to get the hell out of Oregon,” AP reported.
AP reported that during the evening, several dozen people gathered near the scene where police found the wounded people. “It’s just been chaos,” said Anjalyssa Jones. “The community is trying to get answers.”
U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley urged protesters to remain peaceful, saying on X: “Trump wants to generate riots. Don’t take the bait.”
The AP report said the Portland shooting escalates tensions in a city that has long had a contentious relationship with Trump, including due to his recent failed effort to deploy National Guard troops there.