(Headline USA) Federal immigration agents shot and wounded two people allegedly affiliated with the Venezuelan Tren de Aragua gang outside a hospital in Portland on Thursday, a day after an officer fatally shot a woman in Minnesota, authorities said.
The shooting drew hundreds of protesters to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement building at night, and Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield vowed to investigate “whether any federal officer acted outside the scope of their lawful authority” and refer criminal charges to the prosecutor’s office if warranted.
Yesterday, two suspected Tren de Aragua gang associates—let loose on American streets by Joe Biden—weaponized their vehicle against Border Patrol in Portland. The agent took immediate action to defend himself and others, shooting them.
The driver of the vehicle, Luis David Nico… pic.twitter.com/E7qHKKfp6b
— Homeland Security (@DHSgov) January 9, 2026
The Department of Homeland Security said the vehicle’s passenger was “a Venezuelan illegal alien affiliated with the transnational Tren de Aragua prostitution ring” who was involved in a recent shooting in the city. When agents identified themselves to the occupants during a “targeted vehicle stop” in the afternoon, the driver tried to run them over, the department said in a statement.
“Fearing for his life and safety, an agent fired a defensive shot,” it said. “The driver drove off with the passenger, fleeing the scene.”
There was no immediate independent corroboration of that account or of any gang affiliation of the vehicle’s occupants. The incident comes a day after an ICE agent shot and killed an American woman who struck him with her vehicle.
According to the Portland Police bureau, officers initially responded to a report of a shooting outside Adventist Health hospital at 2:18 p.m. Thursday.
A few minutes later, police received information that a man who had been shot was asking for help in a residential area a couple of miles away. Officers went there and found a man and a woman with gunshot wounds. Officers determined that they were injured in the shooting with federal agents, police said.
Their conditions were not immediately known. Portland police said officers applied a tourniquet to one of them.
City Council President Elana Pirtle-Guiney said during a meeting that “as far as we know, both of these individuals are still alive, and we are hoping for more positive updates throughout the afternoon.”
At a nighttime news conference, Police Chief Bob Day said the FBI was leading the investigation and he had no details about the events that led to the shooting. He did confirm the two wounded people’s ties to Tren de Aragua.
Portland Police @ChiefBobDay cries at a press conference after having to affirm that @DHSgov was correct in stating that the illegal Venezuelan migrants accused of trying to run down Border Patrol have ties to Tren de Aragua. Chief Day admitted that he hesitated to share the… pic.twitter.com/wxdT53yWsD
— Andy Ngo (@MrAndyNgo) January 10, 2026
Mayor Keith Wilson and the City Council called on ICE to end all operations in Oregon’s largest city until a full investigation is completed.
Wilson also suggested at a news conference that he does not necessarily believe the federal government’s account of the shooting: “There was a time we could take them at their word. That time is long past.”
Several dozen people gathered in the evening near the scene where police found the wounded people.
Adapted from reporting by the Associated Press
