US Customs and Border Protection agents shot two people in Portland, prompting a police call for calm and a mayoral demand to halt federal operations.
PORTLAND: US federal agents shot and wounded two people in Portland, Oregon, prompting local police to urge calm amid heightened community tensions.
The Portland Police Bureau confirmed the Thursday afternoon shooting involved agents from US Customs and Border Protection (CBP).
“We understand the heightened emotion and tension many are feeling in the wake of the shooting in Minneapolis, but I am asking the community to remain calm as we work to learn more,” Police Chief Bob Day said.
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Local police stressed they were not involved in the incident, which is now under investigation by the FBI.
Officers responding to the scene found a man and a woman with gunshot wounds and applied first aid before emergency medical personnel transported them to a hospital.
Portland City Council President Elana Pirtle-Guiney stated that, to her knowledge, both individuals were still alive following the shooting.
The incident occurred a day after a separate fatal shooting by a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
That earlier shooting, which killed a 37-year-old mother of three, sparked widespread protests and condemnation from local officials.
Portland Mayor Keith Wilson issued a statement saying his city was now “grappling with violence at the hands of federal agents.”
He called on ICE to halt all its operations in Portland pending a full investigation into the latest shooting.
“Federal militarization undermines effective, community-based public safety, and it runs counter to the values that define our region,” Wilson said.
The mayor vowed to use every legal and legislative tool available to protect residents’ civil and human rights. – Reuters
