On Thursday, police reported that two individuals were shot and injured during a traffic-stop with an agent of the U.S. Border Patrol in the city of Portland in Oregon, the beginning of a series of incidents that has led to an ongoing inquiry and increased scrutiny of the activity offederal law enforcement officers.
At around 2:18 p.m. local time, the Portland police officers were dispatched to the reports of gunfire in the South East vicinity of the Main Street and discovered a man and a woman with apparent gunshot wounds. The victims were also transported to a nearby hospital; they were not provided with conditions. Police affirmed that they fired federal agents and local officers, who did not fire.
In a statement by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents were engaged in a targeted vehicle stop when the vehicle driver made the vehicle weaponized and tried to use the vehicle against the law enforcers. DHS stated that one of the agents fired in self-defense. The two passengers then fled and were subsequently found by the Portland police.
The residents were a man and a woman that was accused by DHS to be associated with the Venezuelan-based Tren de Aragua gang. It was not separately confirmed that the affiliations or the details of the encounter came to pass to any independent source other than the federal version.
According to the local police, the incident took place at the area of Adventist Health Portland, and it happened within several minutes when the victims were driving away after they had already stopped in the first-stop point, but as they continued, police spotted them.
The Portland Police Chief Bob Day appealed to calm down and told people that local authorities did not receive a full account of what occurred yet.
In a statement, he said that:
This was still an early stage of this incident and that there was an increased level of concern in the public after another separate shooting case involving a federal immigration officer in Minneapolis a day before.
Chief Bob Day
Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield indicated that he had initiated a state investigation as to whether any federal officer performed beyond the bounds of reasonable lawful authority. The office of Rayfield indicated that they would examine witness testimonies, video and other pieces of evidence.
The mayor of Portland, Keith Wilson, requested a standoff of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) efforts within the city until it is fully investigated. He was also doubtful of the federal story and the necessity of transparency.
Tina Kotek, an Oregon Governor also asked authorities to cooperate and provide explanations regarding the events that resulted in the shooting. People are subject to harm, and Oregonians should have the right to know how it happened in their own communities.
Around an hour after the incident, local protests were described near the local ICE building, where protesters demanded an account and transparency of how the federal agents used the force. State troopers and police were surveilling the area.
Law enforcement officials said that:
The federal investigation into the shooting is being headed by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Police authorities have not internalized names of victims or chronology of the events.
Law enforcement officials
The shooting on Thursday in Portland was the second after a deadly engagement the day before in Minneapolis where an ICE officer killed a woman during an enforcement action. That event has provoked the general outcry and discussion of the federal immigration enforcement actions.
The federal government has been demanded to be cooperative and transparent by local and state authorities. Various agencies are still investigating and the authorities have not so far published an all encompassing factual account of the events, leading to the shooting.