2026 US Border Patrol shooting in Portland, Oregon

Hazelwood is home to many immigrant families. Several local residents said that immigration agents did not have heavy ground presence in Hazelwood in the weeks immediately prior to the shooting. The shooting incidentally took place less than one day after the killing of Renée Good, a US citizen who was shot by an ICE agent in Minneapolis. Nico-Moncada in 2022 and Zambrano-Contreras in 2023. The DHS furthermore claimed both were "suspected Tren de Aragua gang associates", alleging that Zambrano-Contreras participated in a prostitution ring, and in a previous shooting in Portland. while a DHS official said they were not. It was reported that the pair and their children resided in the income-restricted Bria Apartments where many Venezuelan nationals and Oaxacan immigrants lived at the time, but the leasing office could not confirm this statement due to federal housing laws. ==Incident==

According to the DHS, the couple were subjected to a "targeted vehicle stop" by CBP agents in the parking lot of Adventist Health Portland adjacent to Southeast Main Street. Right after the shots were fired, Nico-Moncada struck a black sedan with his car in the process of driving away. One witness said they heard five gunshots, with officers having boxed in the vehicle which they followed into the parking lot. At 2:24, officers received his distress call from outside the Bria Apartments complex where they lived, Police discovered both conscious, == Investigation ==

Hours after the incident, Oregon attorney general Dan Rayfield said that the Oregon Department of Justice had opened an investigation the day of the shooting. Rayfield stated the investigation would draw from interviews with witnesses and video evidence to determine if CBP agents had exceeded their lawful authority in the shooting. He also said the FBI had opened a "concurrent" investigation, hoping that "cooperation will continue". Portland Police chief Bob Day said that they did not know which federal department was involved. Day added that local officers were providing "investigative support and perimeter support" that was "minimal" to the FBI-led investigation. Day later stated that the couple's possible connection to the gang "in no way draws a throughline" to the shooting. However, Day stated that Zambrano-Contreras was previously arrested for prostitution in Washington County after police served her search warrant and during which Nico-Moncada was present. Independent investigations found Nico-Moncada had an open DUI case in Washington County filed in early December 2025. He also had a number of speeding tickets in Multnomah County. Zambrano-Contreras was listed as a witness in grand jury proceedings. Court records also showed that Nico-Moncada has a protective order against Zambrano-Contreras that was obtained in November 2025 after he wrote that she hit him with her car and told people she would kill him the next time she saw him. Although the judge approved the request, the couple remained together. == Aftermath ==

The evening of the shooting, about 400 people gathered for a candlelight vigil outside Portland City Hall, Ana Muñoz, director of community defense at the Portland-based Latino Network, announced the organization would support the couple and their children. 60-90 protesters remained around the facility at midnight but roads were clear. On February 2, The Guardian, citing court records, reported that federal prosecutors had told the judge in the case they "were not suggesting" Nino-Moncada was a gang member and that Zambrano-Contreras was a reported victim of a sexual assault and robbery rather than a suspect in the prior shooting incident. Portland city council member Sameer Kanal stated: "the federal government cannot be trusted. Our default position should be skepticism and understanding they lie very regularly...There’s a playbook of demonizing people...and claiming vehicles were used as ‘weapons.’ We see a pattern of victim-blaming, and it's important we push back, because it's propaganda." ==Reactions==

Federal Oregon senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden both publicly responded to the shooting. Merkley stated: "Please keep protests of Trump's ICE/CBP peaceful, as Trump wants to generate riots. Don't take the bait." Wyden stated that Trump's "deployment of federal agents in my hometown is clearly inflaming violence – and must end". Local officials Mayor Keith Wilson and Governor Tina Kotek held a press conference. Day said: "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." Addressing federal agents, Oregon state senator Kayse Jama said: "This is Oregon. We do not need you, you are not welcome and you need to get the hell out of our community." Kotek described the shooting as a "terrible, unnecessary violent event", placing blame on the Trump Administration's deployment of federal agents to Portland. The Portland City Council was meeting on the afternoon of the shooting, and went into recess immediately upon receiving word of the incident. District 1 councilors Candace Avalos, Jamie Dunphy, and Loretta Smith issued a joint statement, referring to the shooting as "part of a pattern of violence that we have seen too many times across our country". The Multnomah County Board of Commissioners stated: "What we can say now is enough is enough. The terror and violence ICE is causing in our neighborhoods must end now." == See also ==