A US Border Patrol agent shot and wounded a man and a woman in Portland, Oregon, on Thursday, authorities said, prompting local leaders to call for calm amid heightened public tension following a fatal ICE shooting in Minneapolis a day earlier. Portland Police Chief Bob Day urged the community to remain composed while officials investigate the incident.
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The Department of Homeland Security said the shooting occurred during a targeted vehicle stop. According to DHS, the driver, identified as a suspected Venezuelan gang member, attempted to “weaponise” his vehicle against the agents, prompting an agent to fire a defensive shot. Both the driver and a passenger then drove away.
🚨 BREAKING: CHAOS IN OREGON!
Federal agents SHOOT two cartel members in Portland amid escalating ICE crackdown protests. This is getting out of control FAST!
VC: @haileyywest pic.twitter.com/oKTFzC0zMs
— Lancevideos (@lancevideos) January 9, 2026
Portland police reported that the shooting took place near a medical clinic in eastern Portland. About six minutes after arriving, officers learned that a man and woman with gunshot wounds had sought help at a location roughly three kilometres from the clinic. Police applied tourniquets and transported them to a hospital; their condition remains unknown.
The Portland incident follows the fatal shooting of a 37-year-old woman by a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent in Minneapolis, which has sparked two days of protests. Federal agents from ICE and Border Patrol have since been deployed in multiple US cities as part of President Donald Trump’s immigration enforcement operations.
While the operations are supported by Trump’s political base, Democrats and civil rights advocates have criticised the actions as aggressive and provocative. Officials argue that criminal suspects and activists have increasingly used vehicles as weapons, although video evidence has at times contradicted these claims.
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Portland Mayor Keith Wilson condemned the federal use of force and called for ICE to suspend operations until investigations are completed. He described the federal presence as undermining community safety and vowed to use legal and legislative measures to protect civil and human rights in the city.