- - What to Know About Portland Shooting Involving Border Patrol

Chad de GuzmanJanuary 9, 2026 at 12:42 AM

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Officials work the scene following reports that federal immigration officers shot and wounded people in Portland, Ore., Jan. 8, 2026. Credit - Jenny Kane—AP

Just a day after an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer fatally shot a woman in Minneapolis, federal agents were involved in another shooting—this time in Portland, Ore.

City police said in a statement that an unidentified male and female were hospitalized following a shooting involving federal agents in Portland’s Hazelwood neighborhood. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) identified the agents involved as U.S. Border Patrol employees, though Portland police chief Bob Day said it remains unclear if the shooting was an “immigration-related event.”

Portland, a known liberal hub that identifies as a “sanctuary city,” has been the subject of intensified immigration enforcement actions during President Donald Trump’s second term.

Day said the incident on Thursday is still in its “early stages” and urged the community “to remain calm as we work to learn more,” recognizing the “heightened emotion and tension many are feeling in the wake of the shooting in Minneapolis.”

But Portland Mayor Keith Wilson has already echoed similar demands from Minneapolis officials for ICE to end its operations in the city.

“Portland is not a ‘training ground’ for militarized agents, and the ‘full force’ threatened by the Administration has deadly consequences,” Wilson said in a statement.

Rep. Maxine Dexter, a Democrat who represents the Oregon district where the shooting occurred, also said in a statement posted on X that ICE has “done nothing but inject terror, chaos, and cruelty into our communities” and similarly demanded that the agency end its active operations in Portland.

Gov. Tina Kotek slammed the Trump Administration during a press conference Thursday evening, and she demanded a full, transparent investigation into the shooting. She said she has yet to speak to Administration officials.

“Trust is essential to maintain community safety and uphold the law,” Kotek said. “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: our safety.”

State senator Kayse Jama addressed federal immigration agents directly during the same conference, saying: “We do not need you, you are not welcome, you need to get the hell out of our community.”

Here’s what we know about the shooting so far.

What happened?

Portland police said they responded to a report of a shooting along Southeast Main Street at 2:18 p.m. Pacific Time, where it was confirmed federal agents were involved.

Six minutes later, they received information on a man shot, calling and requesting help in the area of Northeast 146th Avenue and East Burnside, some 3 mi. away. Upon responding, police officers found a man and a woman with apparent gunshot wounds. Officers applied a tourniquet and called emergency medical personnel.

The victims, who have yet to be officially identified, were then transported to the hospital; their conditions are unknown. An unnamed senior law enforcement official told CNN that the two victims were husband and wife—the man was shot in the arm while the woman was shot in the chest.

The FBI’s Portland office said in a since-revised statement that it was actively investigating an “assault” on Customs and Border Protection agents.

When reached for comment, the White House referred TIME to a statement posted on X by DHS Spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin, who explained that U.S. Border Patrol agents were conducting a “targeted vehicle stop.” McLaughlin’s statement claimed that the target was the passenger of the vehicle, a Venezuelan “illegal alien” allegedly involved in a recent shooting in the city. The passenger was also alleged to be linked to the transnational crime syndicate Tren de Aragua’s prostitution ring, while the driver was also “believed to be” a member of the syndicate.

“When agents identified themselves to the vehicle occupants, the driver weaponized his vehicle and attempted to run over the law enforcement agents,” the statement said. “Fearing for his life and safety, an agent fired defensive shots,” it continued, after which the driver of the vehicle drove off.

Why is it notable that the latest shooting occurred in Portland?

Portland has a long history of activism and left-wing protests. But the city has particularly incensed Trump and other conservatives, since it was a key site for the Black Lives Matter protest movement in 2020 during the President’s first term.

Since Trump’s return to the White House in 2025, protests against arrests and detentions by immigration agents have become common nationwide, as his Administration ramps up its mass-deportation campaign, targeting in particular so-called sanctuary cities, including Portland.

In September, Trump called the city “war-ravaged” and claimed that ICE facilities were “under siege from attack by Antifa, and other domestic terrorists” as he deployed National Guard personnel there. Trump eventually withdrew the Guardsmen in December.

Following the shooting in Minneapolis, protests broke out across several cities in the U.S., including in Portland, denouncing ICE’s presence in their respective communities. Hours after the Thursday shooting, protesters reportedly gathered in front of Portland City Hall, calling for the abolition of ICE.

“Trump’s deployment of federal agents in my hometown is clearly inflaming violence,” Sen. Ron Wyden (D, Ore.), posted on X, “and must end.”

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Source: “AOL Breaking”