PORTLAND, Ore. — Officials in Oregon have launched an investigation after federal agents shot and injured two people Thursday, in an incident that came a day after the fatal shooting of a woman by an ICE officer in Minneapolis and prompted fierce criticism from officials in Oregon.
Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin said the shooting involved Border Patrol agents who were conducting a “targeted vehicle stop” involving a Venezuelan national.
“When agents identified themselves to the vehicle occupants, the driver weaponized his vehicle and attempted to run over the law enforcement agents,” McLaughlin said in a statement. She said an agent “fired a defensive shot.”
After the shooting, McLaughlin said, “the driver drove off with the passenger, fleeing the scene.”
The two people shot, a man and a woman, were found by Portland police and brought to a hospital, according to the police department. Police said their conditions are unknown.
“We have been clear about our concerns with excessive use of force by federal agents in Portland and nationally,” Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield (D) wrote on social media late Thursday, adding that his office was opening a formal investigation to examine whether “any federal officer acted outside the scope of their lawful authority.”
Portland Mayor Keith Wilson (D) said the shooting was “deeply troubling” and called for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to end all operations in the city. He referenced the shooting of Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis, which sparked protests there, outrage across the country and sharp disagreements between the Trump administration and local authorities about what had taken place.
“We cannot sit by while constitutional protections erode and bloodshed mounts,” Wilson said in a statement. “Portland is not a ‘training ground’ for militarized agents, and the ‘full force’ threatened by the administration has deadly consequences.”
At an evening news conference, the mayor expressed skepticism about the federal government’s account of the shooting.
“There was a time when we could take them at their word. That time is long past,” Wilson said. “That is why we are calling on ICE to halt all operations in Portland until a full and independent investigation can take place.”
Wilson said he had spoken to Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey (D), adding that they shared “grief for the families who are suffering and grief for the recklessness of our federal government.” He said ICE agents and DHS leadership should be investigated for the incidents in Minneapolis and Portland.
State Sen. Kayse Jama (D) said he would introduce legislation aimed at minimizing ICE’s impact on Oregon.
“Let me say to this the federal agencies and ICE. This is Oregon. We do not need you. You’re not welcome. You need to get the hell out of our community,” he said.
Federal immigration officers have been involved in at least a dozen shootings in President Donald Trump’s second term, according to court records and media reports. As part of the administration’s effort to deport up to 1 million undocumented immigrants a year, agents have tackled people believed to be in the country illegally, dragged protesters and used chemical agents on observers.
The Minneapolis shooting, which inflamed tensions around the country, also involved a federal agent firing into a vehicle. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi L. Noem framed that shooting as self-defense, saying the woman who was shot had weaponized her vehicle and attempted to run over the ICE agent. State and local officials disputed that portrayal and blamed the shooting on the surge of immigration enforcement in the city.
A Washington Post analysis of video footage from Minneapolis shows the woman’s SUV moved toward the ICE agent as he stood in front of it. The agent was able to move out of the way and fired at least two shots from the side of the vehicle as it passed him.
In Portland, police said they responded to reports of a shooting about 2:18 p.m. local time and determined federal agents had been involved.
The shooting appeared to have happened outside a medical center in Southeast Portland. The people who were shot then drove several miles east to an apartment building, where they called for help, police said.
Police found the people with gunshot wounds at the apartment building about six minutes after they responded to the shooting, the department said.
At least one neighbor said he saw a man bleeding as he stopped his car there Thursday afternoon. Police cordoned off three blocks and the apartment complex, and they later expanded the blocked-off area as neighbors yelled and became visibly upset about immigration officials’ presence in the city.
Portland’s relationship with the Trump administration has often been fraught. For months last year, protesters gathered at an ICE processing center in Portland to demonstrate against the administration’s immigration enforcement policies, prompting Trump’s unsuccessful attempt to deploy the National Guard there.
The Portland Police Bureau said in a statement that six protesters were arrested near the ICE building on Thursday night.
The mood remained quiet but tense outside the medical center early Thursday evening. FBI agents lingered around an area sectioned off by red tape, and police escorted patients and staff members to their cars.
Several dozen neighbors and protesters congregated outside the apartment complex as FBI agents canvassed the building. Many were immigrants themselves and described the complex, which is on the outskirts of the city in a diverse neighborhood, as “multicultural” and “kid-friendly.”
Most watched quietly as a tow truck removed a red pickup truck from an area that police had encircled with red tape. Some pressed Portland officers for information, and a handful yelled at the police for working with federal agents.
“Trust is essential to maintaining community safety and the rule of law,” Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek (D) said at the news conference. “Federal agents at the direction of the Department of Homeland Security are shattering trust. They are hurting people and they are destroying day by day what we hold dear.”
Wu reported from Washington and Jeong from Seoul. Maria Sacchetti in Washington and Victoria Bisset in London contributed to this report.
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