Police in Portland, Ore. said federal agents shot two people Thursday afternoon, prompting an FBI investigation.
Officers with the Portland Police Bureau responded around 2:20 p.m. to reports of a shooting, where they said that U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents were involved, as reported by KOMO News. Minutes later, officers learned that a shooting victim had called for help as responding officers found a man and a woman suffering from apparent gunshot wounds.
Portland City Council President Elana Pirtle-Guiney said Thursday afternoon that both victims were alive to her knowledge, though officials had not released their conditions, but paramedics transported the two wounded individuals to area hospitals. Mayor Keith Wilson condemned the incident and called for a halt to federal operations in the city.
Here are the facts:
At 2:19 PST, US 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… https://t.co/Tr0qUQCtkm
— Tricia McLaughlin (@TriciaOhio) January 9, 2026
Assistant Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said U.S. Border Patrol agents fired defensive shots after identifying themselves and facing an imminent threat. She also said the vehicle fled the scene with two occupants.
“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,” McLaughlin wrote. “Fearing for his life and safety, an agent fired defensive shots. The driver drove off with the passenger, fleeing the scene.”
The DHS did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
The Portland shooting came one day after an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent shot and killed 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good during an enforcement operation in Minneapolis Wednesday.
In October, the administration ordered National Guard troops into Portland to protect federal immigration facilities after months of sustained attacks and unrest tied to leftist riots. President Donald Trump said the deployment aimed to stop what he called lawless mayhem, as authorities had already arrested and charged dozens of suspects linked to violence against immigration officials in the city.
In November, a federal judge permanently blocked Trump’s deployment of National Guard troops to Portland, ruling that the move violated the Constitution. U.S. District Judge Karin Immergut barred Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth from sending federalized Guard units into the city, saying the order exceeded presidential authority and violated the 10th Amendment. Trump said in December that he halted plans to deploy National Guard troops to Chicago and Portland and ended the paused deployment in Los Angeles after repeated judicial setbacks.
(Featured Image Media Credit: Alex Smith/Wikimedia Commons)
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