Daijiworld Media Network - New York
New York, Oct 9: A US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer shot and injured a man during a targeted enforcement operation in New York on Thursday afternoon, according to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
The shooting occurred around 4 pm along Marble Hill Avenue as officers were seeking a Dominican Republic national identified by DHS as an undocumented immigrant with a prior conviction for grand larceny.
The man was identified as Oscar Belgal, 28, according to law enforcement sources and court records. A senior law enforcement official told NBC News that he was apparently inside a vehicle when at least one officer opened fire. Two sources said Belgal had attempted to ram his vehicle into ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations officers.
DHS said ICE officers provided medical assistance to the injured man, who was taken to a nearby hospital. He was reported to be alive and receiving treatment.
New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani said preliminary information indicated that officers had surrounded the man and a five-year-old child inside his vehicle in the Marble Hill neighbourhood. The child was reported to be physically unharmed.
According to DHS, Belgal had been arrested by the New York City Police Department in December 2023 and released a few days later. The department also alleged that he had previous arrests involving assault, robbery, drug possession and weapons possession, and had associations with the Trinitarios gang. A senior official told NBC News that he also had an open drug case.
The FBI, Homeland Security and NYPD responded to the scene. The NYPD confirmed that federal law enforcement agents were involved in the shooting but clarified that city police were neither involved in the incident nor present when the shots were fired.
Mamdani described the incident as an extremely serious situation and said he had contacted US President Donald Trump, adding that he would demand an end to ICE enforcement operations in the city.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul said she had also spoken with Trump and DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin about the shooting. She urged them to halt ICE enforcement operations in the state and called for the release of any body-camera footage to help establish the facts.
The investigation into the shooting is ongoing.