BLM LA's Abdullah says shooting would have led to an arrest "were this anyone else"

Melina Abdullahco-founder, Black Lives Matter Los Angeles

Condemned

Black Lives Matter LA co-founder Melina Abdullah said the shooting would have led to an arrest if the shooter had not been a federal agent, and rejected the idea that Porter's celebratory gunfire justified killing him.

“Were this anyone else, there would've been an arrest. You don't get to just murder people because you don't like what they're doing or how they're celebrating.”

Reporting

Open source (opens in a new tab)Northridge community holds candlelight vigil for man fatally shot by DHS agent on New Year's Eve · CBS News Los AngelesCBS News Los Angeles, Jan. 5, 2026

Case updates

Hear if prosecutors decide on charges in the Keith Porter Jr. shooting

Get an email if the Los Angeles County District Attorney makes a charging decision, DHS confirms the agent's identity, or the family's federal claim advances.

Important updates only. Free. Confirm your email to start. Unsubscribe anytime. How we handle your email.

Editorial illustration of a Southern California apartment courtyard at night, with distant fireworks.
Credit: Dispute Index / OpenAI

Where this statement fits

Was ICE Agent Brian Palacios justified in fatally shooting Keith Porter Jr.?

On December 31, 2025, an off-duty ICE agent fatally shot Keith Porter Jr., 43, outside the Valley Pointe Apartments in Northridge, Los Angeles. The Department of Homeland Security says the agent responded to what he believed was an active shooter, identified himself as law enforcement, and fired after Porter pointed a rifle and exchanged gunfire with him. Porter's friends and family say he was firing a rifle into the air to celebrate New Year's Eve. Family attorney Jamal Tooson says two witnesses told him they heard only three shots from what sounded like a single weapon and did not hear the agent identify himself, though he has also said there are no eyewitnesses to the shooting. The Los Angeles Times reported that a law enforcement official said detectives found evidence of two bullet impacts behind where the agent was standing, which the Times said supported claims that Porter had fired at him. Court documents filed in an unrelated custody dispute later identified the agent as ICE officer Brian Palacios, though DHS has not officially confirmed his identity or involvement. The Los Angeles Police Department investigated and submitted its findings to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office in mid-2026; as of September 2026, no charges had been filed.

Read the full case

Source and context

Reporting

Northridge community holds candlelight vigil for man fatally shot by DHS agent on New Year's Eve (opens in a new tab) · CBS News Los AngelesCBS News Los Angeles, Jan. 5, 2026

About this source

Covers the Jan. 4, 2026 candlelight vigil for Porter hosted by Black Lives Matter Los Angeles, with reaction from family and BLM LA leadership.

Archived copy (opens in a new tab)

Before the quotation

Abdullah spoke at a January 4, 2026 candlelight vigil for Porter in Northridge, hosted by Black Lives Matter Los Angeles and attended by Porter's family and community members.

After the quotation

The vigil was intended, organizers said, to honor Porter's life while pressing for accountability from federal authorities over his death.

How this statement is classified

Condemned

The label describes this statement's response within the context above.

Why this label?

Abdullah rejects the premise that the agent's account justifies the killing, characterizing it instead as an unjustified killing that has escaped the accountability an ordinary shooter would face, which is a direct condemnation of the shooting rather than a defense of it or of a critic's remedy alone.

Recorded on
Published here
People and groups discussed
Brian Palacios, U.S. Department of Homeland Security

More from this case

Read the full case

Share or embed this statement

Quote card: Melina Abdullah, BLM LA's Abdullah says shooting would have led to an arrest "were this anyone else"Download image (PNG)

The embed keeps its attribution link to The Dispute Index. Credit the image to The Dispute Index and link to the statement page.

Cite this record

Publisher
The Dispute Index
Title
BLM LA's Abdullah says shooting would have led to an arrest "were this anyone else"
First published
Last updated
Permalink
https://disputeindex.com/events/2190-black-lives-matter-la-co-founder-melina-abdullah

Last updated marks the most recent saved version of this published statement.

The Dispute Index. "BLM LA's Abdullah says shooting would have led to an arrest "were this anyone else"". First published: 2026-09-24. Last updated: 2026-09-24. https://disputeindex.com/events/2190-black-lives-matter-la-co-founder-melina-abdullah