OPB’s First Look: Border Patrol shoots 2 people in Portland

Subscribe to OPB’s First Look to receive Northwest news in your inbox six days a week.

Good morning, Northwest.

U.S. Border Patrol shot and wounded two people in Portland yesterday afternoon, police said, sparking protests around the city overnight.

Details about the shooting remain scant.

It comes just a day after an immigration officer shot and killed a woman in Minnesota.

Today’s newsletter starts with what we know now about yesterday’s shooting and the demonstrations that followed in the Rose City.

Here’s your First Look at Friday’s news.

—Bradley W. Parks

Border Patrol wounds 2 people in Portland shooting, sparking protests

U.S. Border Patrol shot and injured two people in Portland yesterday afternoon, police said, spurring protests that sent hundreds into the streets even as local authorities scrambled to get answers themselves.

The shooting, which happened in a hospital parking lot in East Portland, came the day after immigration agents in Minneapolis shot and killed a U.S. citizen in her car.

In Portland, authorities said a man and a woman were shot during a traffic stop around 2:15 p.m. and taken to local hospitals. Their conditions were not made public late last night.

The shooting drew swift condemnation from local and state leaders, even as federal authorities claimed officers acted in self-defense. Six people were arrested at overnight protests. (Conrad Wilson, Alex Zielinski and Dirk VanderHart)

Learn more

✉️ Are you enjoying First Look? Forward this email your friends.

3 things to know this morning

• Bend City Council has decided to turn off four AI-powered license plate cameras and not renew the city’s contract with the company, Flock Safety. (Kathryn Styer Martínez) 
• Washington County has declared an emergency after a landslide severely damaged Oregon Route 6 last month. Flaggers are on duty 24 hours a day to help move traffic, according to the Oregon Department of Transportation. (OPB staff) 
• Federal student loans that help pay for degrees in music, theater, cosmetology or alternative health care could be stripped away under new regulations being considered by the U.S. Department of Education. (Tiffany Camhi)

Headlines from around the Northwest

• ICE posing as utility workers to detain immigrants, Gresham lawmaker warns (Mia Maldonado)
• Oregon unemployment rate stayed at 5.2% in November as health care boom continues (Zac Ziegler)
• Eugene school district releases most significant phase of budget cuts, scaling back support for students, teachers (Rebecca Hansen-White)
• Gerrymander Washington state? Democrats want to talk about it (Scott Greenstone)
• Washington state’s climate-fighting claim is hot air, officials admit (John Ryan)
• As new ‘superflu’ hits other states hard, Oregon is doing relatively well (Lynne Terry)
• Indiana and Oregon to compete in CFP semifinal with Miami waiting in championship (Charles Odum)

Listen in on OPB’s daily conversation

“Think Out Loud” airs at noon and 8 p.m. weekdays on OPB Radio, opb.org and the OPB News app. Today’s planned topics (subject to change):

• A preview of Washington’s 2026 legislative session
• First comprehensive report of reptiles and amphibians in Columbia County released

Superabundant recipe: A bright winter salad with citrus and shaved fennel

After the holidays, your body might be screaming at you to please, please eat a vegetable.

Good thing winter citrus, leafy radicchio and fennel bulbs are all at their peak!

Find the recipe for this bright and nutritious salad in this week’s Superabundant newsletter. (Heather Arndt Anderson)

Learn more

Subscribe to OPB’s First Look to receive Northwest news in your inbox six days a week.