Two people were wounded in Portland, Oregon, after federal immigration agents opened fire during a law enforcement encounter in the Hazelwood neighborhood.
The shooting happened outside a clinic during what officials described as a targeted vehicle stop tied to an ongoing federal investigation. Portland police said they were called to reports of gunfire and later located the injured man and woman several miles from the original scene. Both were taken to a hospital and were reported to be alive.
Federal officials said the agents fired after the driver of the vehicle allegedly tried to use the car against them, prompting what they described as a defensive response. The Department of Homeland Security said the occupants of the vehicle were Venezuelan nationals and claimed they had gang connections.
The FBI has taken over the investigation into the shooting. Portland’s mayor and the Oregon attorney general called for federal immigration operations in the city to be paused while the incident is reviewed.
The shooting sparked protests and renewed debate over federal immigration enforcement in the city, coming just one day after another high profile federal agent involved shooting in Minneapolis.