US federal agents shoot, wound two people in Portland, one day after Minneapolis shooting

LOS ANGELES - US federal agents shot and wounded two people in the western city of Portland, Oregon on Jan 8, local police said.

“Two people are in the hospital following a shooting involving federal agents,” a statement from Portland Police said, one day after an American woman was shot dead by an immigration officer in Minneapolis
, sparking widespread anger.

The local police force – which stressed its officers were not involved in the shooting – said they had received calls for help mid-afternoon.

“Officers responded and found a male and female with apparent gunshot wounds. Officers applied a tourniquet and summoned emergency medical personnel,” the statement said.

“The patients were transported to the hospital. Their conditions are unknown. Officers have determined the two people were injured in the shooting involving federal agents,” said the police.

The local FBI office initially put out a tweet that confirmed the shooting but later deleted it.

“FBI Portland is investigating an agent-involved shooting that happened at approximately 2.15pm near the 10000 block of Main St in Portland involving Customs and Border Patrol Agents in which two individuals were wounded,” the post said.

“This remains an active and ongoing investigation led by the FBI.”

The local ABC affiliate, KATU2, said the injured people had driven away from the scene of the shooting to an apartment complex, where they had called for help.

The incident came just 24 hours after a masked Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent shot dead a 37-year-old mother in Minneapolis, in what the White House claimed was self-defense against “domestic terrorism”.

Portland’s mayor, Keith Wilson, said the shooting in his city was the result of the flood of heavily-armed federal agents as part of what President Donald Trump says is a crackdown on illegal immigration.

“Just one day after the horrific violence in Minnesota at the hands of federal agents, our community here in Portland is now grappling with another deeply troubling incident.

“We cannot sit by while constitutional protections erode and bloodshed mounts. Portland is not a ‘training ground’ for militarised agents, and the ‘full force’ threatened by the administration has deadly consequences.

“As mayor, I call on ICE to end all operations in Portland until a full investigation can be completed.”

Mr Wilson said he wanted locals to make their voices heard peacefully.

“I call on every Portlander to represent our values and to show up with calm and purpose during this difficult time. Portland does not respond to violence with violence.” AFP