|Published: Jan. 08, 2026, 5:39 p.m.
Adventist Health Portland in Southeast Portland on Jan. 8, 2026.Allison Barr/The Oregonian
By Shane Dixon Kavanaugh | The Oregonian/OregonLive
Maxine Bernstein | The Oregonian/OregonLive
U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents shot and wounded a man and a woman Thursday afternoon in a medical clinic parking lot near Adventist Medical Center in Southeast Portland, authorities and witnesses said.
By Shane Dixon Kavanaugh | The Oregonian/OregonLive
Maxine Bernstein | The Oregonian/OregonLive
U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents shot and wounded a man and a woman Thursday afternoon in a medical clinic parking lot near Adventist Medical Center in Southeast Portland, authorities and witnesses said.
One was shot in the leg and the other in the chest, Portland police sources said. They are believed to be a married couple. Police said they didn’t know their immediate conditions.
The shooting occurred about 2:25 p.m. near the 10000 block of Southeast Main Street, the FBI said in a statement to their X account that was deleted shortly after.
“This remains and active and ongoing investigation led by the FBI,” the statement said.
A spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin, said agents were trying to make a traffic stop and characterized the shooting as self-defense.
She said the person agents tried to stop was a “Venezuelan illegal alien affiliated with the transnational Tren de Aragua prostitution ring” who had been involved in a recent shooting in Portland. Another person was in the car, too, she said.
“When agents identified themselves to the vehicle occupants, the driver weaponized his vehicle and attempted to run over the law enforcement agents,” she said. “Fearing for his life and safety, an agent fired a defensive shot. The driver drove off with the passenger, fleeing the scene. This situation is evolving, and more information is forthcoming.”
She didn’t release any names.
Japhet De Oliveira, a spokesperson for Adventist Health, said police responded to the shooting in the Adventist Health Portland campus in an area with several clinics and offices.
Tina Henderson, who works in the medical office at the shooting scene, said someone ran into her suite and said, “You guys, be careful. There was just a shooting in the parking lot.”
“This remains and active and ongoing investigation led by the FBI,” the statement said.
A spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin, said agents were trying to make a traffic stop and characterized the shooting as self-defense.
She said the person agents tried to stop was a “Venezuelan illegal alien affiliated with the transnational Tren de Aragua prostitution ring” who had been involved in a recent shooting in Portland. Another person was in the car, too, she said.
“When agents identified themselves to the vehicle occupants, the driver weaponized his vehicle and attempted to run over the law enforcement agents,” she said. “Fearing for his life and safety, an agent fired a defensive shot. The driver drove off with the passenger, fleeing the scene. This situation is evolving, and more information is forthcoming.”
She didn’t release any names.
Japhet De Oliveira, a spokesperson for Adventist Health, said police responded to the shooting in the Adventist Health Portland campus in an area with several clinics and offices.
Tina Henderson, who works in the medical office at the shooting scene, said someone ran into her suite and said, “You guys, be careful. There was just a shooting in the parking lot.”

