Federal authorities Friday released the names of two people who were shot by immigration agents during a traffic stop in Portland, Oregon, the day before. The shooting prompted angry denunciations from local officials, who demanded an end to the Trump administration鈥檚 crackdown, which they said was making the city less safe.
Department of 91直播land Security officials said in a statement that the man and the woman, identified as Luis David Nico Moncada and Yorlenys Betzabeth Zambrano-Contreras, had both entered the United States illegally from Venezuela.
Federal authorities said that the two people were associated with Tren de Aragua, a gang with roots in a Venezuelan prison that has been a frequent target of President Donald Trump, without providing immediate evidence for that assertion. They said the man had been arrested for driving violations in the United States since entering the country in 2022 and had an order for removal.
The investigation into the shooting by U.S. Border Patrol agents is being led by federal authorities, who said Friday morning that both of the people who were shot had been hospitalized and that they would be taken into the custody by the FBI upon their release. It was unclear yet if the pair had legal representation.
City and state officials said Thursday night that they had received no information from federal officials and were not even aware of which agency had shot the pair, who were not immediately taken into custody by federal authorities and drove about 2 miles to an apartment complex where they were apparently living.
The state鈥檚 Democratic attorney general, Dan Rayfield, said the Oregon Department of Justice, which he leads, will be conducting its own investigation of the shooting and the behavior of federal officers. His office fought federal attempts to use National Guard troops to quell demonstrations at the Immigration and Customs Enforcement building in Portland last year and in that case contended that the federal response to demonstrators was often disproportionate to the level of danger.
鈥淥ver the last two days we鈥檝e had two shootings in two different states,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e鈥檝e also had allegations in court of excessive force in Oregon. There鈥檚 a heightened sense of concern within this state. Our plan is to go in, look at the facts in an objective matter to see what transpired and if there is an applicable state law violation.鈥�
Rayfield said the FBI was cooperating with what he termed a 鈥渃oncurrent鈥� investigation.
鈥淚t鈥檚 early, but I鈥檓 optimistic that cooperation will continue,鈥� he said. 鈥淲orking together is how we can rebuild trust.鈥�
Portland and Oregon law enforcement officials have not corroborated the federal assertion of Tren de Aragua activity in the state, though neighbors at the apartment complex where the couple fled after they were shot had complained about drug activity and crime in the neighborhood. Oregon鈥檚 Venezuelan community is tiny 鈥� 0.005% of the state population, according to recent census data.
Police were alerted to the shooting Thursday when the injured man called 911, according to Bob Day, Portland鈥檚 police chief. The immigration agents involved in the shooting were no longer on the scene when local officers arrived.
Day suggested that cooperation between federal and local officials was limited, which echoes the situation in Minneapolis, where an ICE agent killed a woman in her vehicle Wednesday. Minnesota鈥檚 top law enforcement agency said Thursday that it had withdrawn from an investigation because it was being denied access to evidence by federal agencies.
That shooting prompted angry demonstrations and tearful vigils in remembrance of the woman who was killed, Renee Nicole Good, 37. As in Portland, it exacerbated long-running tensions between Minneapolis officials and the Trump administration over a surge in federal immigration enforcement, with city officials demanding an end to the crackdown.
In Portland, homeland security officials said that Border Patrol agents had been conducting a 鈥渢argeted vehicle stop鈥� when they pulled over a truck driven by Moncada amid a collection of health clinics and offices and that an agent had fired after the driver tried to run them over.
Residents at the apartment complex where the victims were found said they were both conscious and talking to police officers and emergency responders while being loaded into ambulances.
Emergency medical technicians described both victims as Spanish speakers in conversations captured by emergency radio broadcasts. The woman had a gunshot wound to the chest, an EMT told a dispatcher, and the man was described as having two gunshot wounds.
Demonstrations after the episode lasted late into the night Thursday, and Portland police arrested at least six people.
The parking lot of the Southeast Portland hospital complex where the shooting occurred was quiet and cordoned off with yellow tape Friday afternoon, and a security guard said no one was working in the building. A black sedan that was hit when the shooting victims drove away was towed away Thursday night.
Gov. Tina Kotek of Oregon, a Democrat, demanded a transparent investigation. 鈥淔ederal agents at the direction of the Department of 91直播land Security are shattering trust,鈥� she said Thursday. 鈥淭hey are destroying day by day what we hold dear.鈥�
This article originally appeared in .
漏 2026 The New York Times Company