A federal immigration agent shot and wounded a man in New York City on Thursday, heightening concerns about immigration enforcement in a city with millions of immigrants.
The man, Oscar Belgal, 28, a Dominican immigrant, was shot in the Marble Hill neighborhood as agents with Immigration and Customs Enforcement tried to arrest him while he was in a car with his 5-year-old son.
The shooting appeared to be the first by ICE in the city since 2020. It elicited swift rebukes from Gov. Kathy Hochul and Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who accused the Trump administration of “terrorizing our city.”
Here’s what to know about the shooting:
What happened?
Mr. Belgal was shot in the neck after at least one ICE agent fired seven rounds at the car, the police said.
His son was not injured and was in the care of a family member late Thursday.
The Department of Homeland Security said in a statement that the shooting had occurred as the agents tried to arrest an undocumented immigrant with a criminal record. He was in the United States illegally and had been convicted of grand larceny, the statement said.
A witness, Viely Herrera, said that she had heard a series of shots and saw an S.U.V. crash into concrete barriers on the street. Mr. Belgal came out of the vehicle holding his neck and shouting in Spanish. The boy was in the back seat crying.
Where did the shooting take place?
The shooting happened around 4 p.m. on West 225th Street near Broadway in a predominantly Latino neighborhood at the edge of Manhattan and the Bronx.
The street is near a subway station and a strip of small stores and restaurants surrounded by residential blocks. Neighbors were making their way home from work and school in the late afternoon sunshine.
On Thursday night, more than 100 demonstrators converged on the scene of the shooting to denounce ICE. The Rev. Emily DeTar Birt, a Unitarian minister, said that several schools were nearby.
“This is happening in broad daylight in front of our kids,” she said.
How did the mayor respond?
Mr. Mamdani condemned the shooting at a news conference on Thursday night and called it “an outrage.”
“Tonight, a 5-year-old child sits traumatized and terrified,” the mayor said. “Tonight, millions of our neighbors are wondering whether they will be safe on our streets, in our schools, at their work sites.”
Mr. Mamdani said he had spent two hours on the phone with President Trump and Markwayne Mullin, the homeland security secretary, trying unsuccessfully to negotiate the release of Mr. Belgal.
Ms. Hochul said in a statement that she had also spoken with Mr. Trump and Mr. Mullin about the shooting.
“I expressed outrage on behalf of New Yorkers and urged them to halt ICE enforcement operations in New York,” she said.
Who was Oscar Belgal?
We do not know much yet about Mr. Belgal and his life in New York City.
Jessica S. Tisch, the police commissioner, said that he had a grand larceny conviction and a drug case pending against him.
The Homeland Security Department said he had been arrested in New York in December 2023 and released a few days later.
Photos from the scene showed Mr. Belgal handcuffed on the ground. Several men stood nearby, some dressed in construction-style vests and wearing face masks. At least one had a long gun.
Mr. Belgal was taken to NewYork-Presbyterian Allen Hospital, a few blocks away in Manhattan.
At approximately 11 p.m., Mr. Belgal was transferred from the hospital to a detention facility outside of New York State, said Mr. Mullin, who declined to identify which one.
How has the community reacted?
Anti-ICE demonstrators gathered at the scene of the shooting and outside the hospital where Mr. Belgal was taken.
Late on Thursday, tensions flared outside the hospital. Protesters and the police scuffled as officers tried to put up barricades to establish a clear path to and from the building’s entrance.
Protesters chanted “No justice, no peace, we want ICE off our streets.” Some hurled water bottles at the police. At least one person was taken into custody.
Nearly 40 percent of the city’s residents are immigrants. Many New Yorkers have expressed alarm over a rise in ICE activity.
Arrests by immigration agents in New York State rose from 927 in May to 1,193 in June and 1,567 in July, according to federal data compiled by the Deportation Data Project, an academic group.
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