Border Patrol agents shot 2 people in East Portland during ‘targeted traffic stop,’ DHS says
In a statement, Mayor Keith Wilson called for a halt on ICE operations in Portland, asking Portlanders to show up with “calm and purpose” after the shooting.
PORTLAND, Ore. — U.S. Border Patrol agents shot two people during an attempted traffic stop in East Portland on Thursday afternoon. Police found a man and a woman injured after they drove away from the scene of the shooting and someone called for help.
The shooting comes just one day after an incident in Minneapolis where an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer shot and killed 37-year-old Renee Good during a similar interaction, as she was behind the wheel of an SUV.
In both instances, the Department of Homeland Security claimed that the drivers tried to harm federal law enforcement officers with their vehicles.
According to a statement from the Portland Police Bureau, officers responded at 2:18 p.m. to Southeast Main Street near I-205, the location of Adventist Health Portland, for a report of the shooting. Officers confirmed at the scene that federal agents were involved in the shooting, which happened in the hospital parking lot.
At 2:24 p.m., police learned that a man who had been shot was calling to request help near Northeast 146th Avenue and East Burnside. Portland police officers responded and found a man and a woman with apparent gunshot wounds.
PPB said they applied a tourniquet and called for emergency medical assistance. Both patients were taken to the hospital, and PPB said their conditions are unknown. Police confirmed they were connected to the shooting involving federal agents.
Police secured both scenes for an investigation. East Burnside was closed westbound between Northeast 145th Avenue and 148th Avenue while investigators went over the scene.
“We are still in the early stages of this incident,” said Portland Police Chief Bob Day in a statement. “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.”
In a statement, DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said that both of the people shot were affiliated with the gang Tren de Aragua:
“At 2:19 PST, U.S. Border Patrol agents were conducting a targeted vehicle stop in Portland, Oregon. The passenger of the vehicle and target is a Venezuelan illegal alien affiliated with the transnational Tren de Aragua prostitution ring and involved in a recent shooting in Portland. The vehicle driver is believed to be a member of the vicious Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua. When agents identified themselves to the vehicle occupants, the driver weaponized his vehicle and attempted to run over the law enforcement agents.
“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.”
The information provided by DHS has not been independently confirmed by KGW.
According to two law enforcement sources familiar with the matter who spoke with NBC News reporters Andrew Blankstein and Jonathan Dienst, the stop on Thursday was part of a special operation detachment in something called “Operation Oregon.”
The sources told NBC that agents had stopped a red Toyota and the driver tried to flee, hitting an unidentified agent’s vehicle in the process. The agent fired at the Toyota, hitting two people — a 33-year-old man and a 32-year-old woman who were suspected gang members or associates.
At Adventist Health Portland, located on Southeast Main Street by I-205, a KGW crew saw an area outside the hospital surrounded with yellow police tape, with Portland police officers and federal agents on-scene. Staff confirmed that there had been an incident in one of the parking lots.
In the middle of the roped-off parking lot, KGW saw a damaged vehicle with its doors open.
At the other scene, outside an apartment complex on East Burnside near Northeast 146th, KGW saw a red Toyota pickup being hooked up and towed away Thursday evening.
In a tweet Thursday afternoon, FBI Portland said it was the lead agency investigating an “agent involved shooting” involving Border Patrol officers and that two people were wounded. The account soon deleted the tweet.
The FBI later released a different statement, calling it an investigation into an assault on federal officers:
“FBI Portland is investigating an assault on a federal officers that happened at approximately 2:15 p.m. near the 10000 block of Main St. in Portland involving two Customs and Border Patrol agents. The two assailants fled the scene immediately following the shooting and are currently being treated for their injuries. This remains an active and ongoing investigation led by the FBI. Please follow this thread for more information.”
FBI agents could be seen Thursday afternoon at the scene on East Burnside, where Portland police found the two injured people.
Staff at Legacy Emanuel Medical Center confirmed to KGW that the hospital was on lockdown shortly before 3:30 p.m. on Thursday. They would not comment further, deferring to the FBI as the responding agency.
‘Show up with calm and purpose’
The incident Thursday happened to coincide with a protest against ICE happening downtown. Demonstrators planned to go up to Mayor Keith Wilson’s office at city hall to demand he revoke the permit for the ICE facility in Portland, spurred on by the agency’s recent deadly shooting of a woman in Minneapolis.
But outside Wilson’s office, a constituent consultant told the small group of demonstrators that there’d been an incident in the city involving ICE, and that the mayor was in an emergency meeting.
Almost simultaneously, around 2:40 p.m., Portland City Council President Elana Pirtle-Guiney abruptly broke into an ongoing debate over the election of a new council president, saying that the council needed to immediately go on recess.
Just before 4 p.m., Pirtle-Guiney returned and adjourned the meeting for the day, after looking to reschedule for Wednesday, Jan. 14.
Minutes later, Mayor Keith Wilson put out a statement, saying in part:
“We cannot sit by while constitutional protections erode and bloodshed mounts. Portland is not a ‘training ground’ for militarized agents, and the ‘full force’ threatened by the administration has deadly consequences. As Mayor, I call on ICE to end all operations in Portland until a full investigation can be completed.
“Federal militarization undermines effective, community‑based public safety, and it runs counter to the values that define our region. I will use every legal and legislative tool available to protect our residents’ civil and human rights.
“I call on every Portlander to represent our values and to show up with calm and purpose during this difficult time. Portland does not respond to violence with violence. We respond with clarity, unity, and a commitment to justice. We must stand together to protect Portland.”
Demonstrators remained at city hall into the evening Thursday, some of them holding a vigil outside of the building. Others said they planned to meet at the Portland ICE facility at 7 p.m.
“We’re going to be standing against their violent actions here in Portland today,” said Holly Brown, a protest organizer. “We’re going to be demanding that the ICE agent who shot these people is arrested. And we’re going to be fighting back.”
Brown expressed skepticism toward the calls for peace from Wilson and Portland’s police chief.
“I think that ship has sailed. They shot people in Portland today. We’re not going to go out there and do something crazy, but we have to fight back,” Brown said. “And quite frankly, saying that people should stand down, should avoid going up against ICE right now is actually super dangerous, because when they do things like this, we have to show them that we will not let it stand in Portland, and we’re not going to be silent.”
“We’re going to go there, we’re going to raise our voices, we’re going to stand against violence here in Portland,” Brown added, “and we’re going to make sure everybody is safe while we’re doing that.”
Shortly after 6 p.m., a group of state and local leaders, including Gov. Tina Kotek, held a press conference at city hall to address the shooting. They broadly denounced the Trump administration’s ramp-up of immigration enforcement and the rise in associated violence.
“While details remain limited, one thing is clear: when a president endorses tearing families apart, and attempts to govern through fear and hate rather than shared values, he fosters an environment of lawlessness and recklessness,” Kotek said, in part.