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In the United States, federal agents shot and wounded two people in Portland, Oregon, a city where President Donald Trump’s administration has waged an immigration crackdown.
It was the second time in less than a day that federal immigration authorities said they shot 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 reports of shots fired on Southeast Main Street around 2:18 p.m. local time (22:18 GMT).
“Agents have confirmed that federal agents were involved in a shooting,” the city said in a statement. statement.
Emergency responders then received a call for help from one of the shooting victims, a man, around 2:24 p.m. (10:24 p.m. GMT) near Northeast 146th Avenue and East Burnside in Portland’s Hazelwood neighborhood.
“Officers responded and found a man and woman suffering from apparent gunshot wounds,” the release said. “Officers applied a tourniquet and called emergency medical personnel.”
Both victims of the shooting were taken to hospital. Their condition remains unknown, according to police, who were not involved in the shooting.
The local Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) office confirmed the shooting in a now-deleted social media post, saying the incident involved Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) agents.
“This is an active and ongoing investigation by the FBI,” the Portland FBI office said in the post.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) later offered its own account of what happened, describing the shooting as a self-defense situation during a “targeted vehicle stop.”
In a social network jobDHS said its target was a passenger traveling in a vehicle affiliated with a “transnational Tren de Aragua prostitution ring and involved in a recent shooting.” The driver, according to DHS, was a member of the Tren de Aragua, a Venezuelan gang.
“When the officers identified themselves to the occupants of the vehicle, the driver armed his vehicle and attempted to run over the law enforcement officers,” DHS said in the post.
“Fearing for his life and safety, an officer fired a defensive shot. The driver took off with the passenger, fleeing the scene.”
Shooting involving a second officer
Details of Thursday’s shooting remain unknown. But President Donald Trump’s administration has been criticized for misrepresenting incidents in which federal agents deployed violence as part of its nationwide immigration crackdown.
The Portland shooting comes a day after an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent fatally shot Renee Nicole Good, a 37-year-old mother of three, in her car in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
“Just one day after the horrific violence perpetrated by federal agents in Minnesota, our community here in Portland is now grappling with another deeply disturbing incident,” Portland Mayor Keith Wilson said in a statement. statement.
“We cannot stand idly by while constitutional protections erode and bloodshed escalates. »
Good’s death sparked widespread outrage, as well as criticism that the Trump administration rushed to spread a misleading narrative about the Minneapolis shootings.
Video of Good’s shooting showed the 37-year-old woman stopped in her SUV on a snowy Minneapolis road, appearing to wave at other drivers.
A vehicle carrying ICE agents pulled up next to her vehicle and agents approached her, reaching for her car door handle. One of them approached the front of her vehicle. As his car appeared to turn around and drive away, that officer fired several shots at the vehicle, killing Good.
Also in this case, Trump administration officials say the ICE agent acted in self-defense, even though the vehicle did not appear to make contact with his body.
Asset asserted — without evidence — that Good was a “professional agitator” who “violently, intentionally, and maliciously knocked down the ICE officer.” Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem also accused Good of an “act of domestic terrorism,” although there is no evidence that Good sought to harm the ICE agent.
Democratic officials have accused the Trump administration of spreading false narratives to distract from its own abuses during the immigration crackdown.
Still, Portland officials repeatedly called for calm following Thursday’s shooting, while acknowledging parallels between the incidents.
“We are in the early stages of this incident,” Portland Police Chief Bob Day said in a statement.
“We understand the heightened emotion and tension many are feeling following the shooting in Minneapolis, but I ask the community to remain calm as we work to learn more.”
Mayor Wilson, meanwhile, called on federal immigration agents to leave the city, arguing that they had put local citizens in danger with their brutal actions.
“Portland is not a ‘training ground’ for militarized agents, and the ‘total force’ threatened by the administration has deadly consequences,” Wilson said.
“As Mayor, I am calling on ICE to cease all operations in Portland until a full investigation can be conducted. Federal militarization undermines effective community public safety and runs counter to the values that define our region.”
Oregon Sen. Jeff Merkley, meanwhile, expressed “great concern” over the incident and suggested that an angry response would only fuel the Trump administration’s obsession with Portland.
“Trump wants to provoke riots,” he said. wrote. “Don’t take the bait.”
Portland under the microscope
Portland has long been a focal point of Trump’s immigration control measures, and the increased federal presence has sparked largely nonviolent protests in response.
Long considered a Democratic stronghold, Portland was identified in May as one of the “sanctuary jurisdictions” that the Trump administration has identified as resisting its crackdown on immigration.
The Republican president has hinted he might send federal agents to the region in response.
In September, those threats appeared to materialize when Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform that he would send the U.S. military to support immigration operations in the city.
The announcement came five days after Trump declared antifa – the cowardly anti-fascist movement – a “domestic terrorist organization”.
“I am directing Secretary of War Pete Hegseth to provide all troops necessary to protect war-ravaged Portland and all of our besieged ICE facilities from attacks by Antifa and other domestic terrorists,” Trump said. wrote. “I also authorize Full Force, if necessary.”
It’s the latest in a series of instances where Trump has attempted to send federal troops into predominantly Democratic urban areas, including Los Angeles and Chicago, Illinois.
Local authorities denounced the deployment as a violation of the law and an abuse of executive power. But the Trump administration has doubled down, describing Portland as overrun with criminal behavior.
“In Portland, Oregon, antifa thugs repeatedly attacked our officers and laid siege to federal property in an effort to violently stop the execution of federal law,” Trump said during a roundtable discussion in October.
In response, some protesters in Portland began arriving in inflatable frog costumes, aiming to call Trump’s warnings about violent extremists absurd. The Portland Frog Brigade, as the protesters were called, inspired similar demonstrations across the country.
State and local leaders fought Trump’s troop deployment in court, and 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 National Guard troops into areas where lower courts had barred them.
On Thursday, Mayor Wilson called for accountability for the recent shootings, saying it would protect the civil liberties of local residents.
“ICE agents and Homeland Security leaders must be thoroughly investigated and held accountable for their violence against the American people, in Minnesota, in Portland and across the country,” he said.
He reiterated the message that Portlanders should not seek revenge in the wake of the shootings.
“Portland does not respond to violence with violence. We respond with clarity, unity and a commitment to justice. We must be united to protect Portland,” he said.
