A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer fired at least seven rounds into a car on a crowded New York street Thursday afternoon, city officials said, wounding an immigrant they were trying to detain while a 5-year-old boy sat in the back seat.
The Department of Homeland Security confirmed that an ICE officer had fired during a “targeted enforcement operation” and said Friday morning that the man had rammed his car into ICE vehicles before the shooting. The agency said it was attempting to apprehend a “criminal illegal alien” from the Dominican Republic with a criminal record that includes a conviction for grand larceny and multiple past arrests.
Local authorities identified the man as Oscar Belgal, 28, and said residential police cameras showed him parallel parking in front of a fire hydrant about 4 p.m. Thursday. One of the ICE officers, in plain clothes and with a gun drawn, approached the driver-side window of the gray Honda CRV, New York Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said.
Another officer approached the driver-side headlight. The driver started to pull away and moved out of view of the camera, Tisch said. Soon after, the ICE officer opened fire, striking Belgal in the neck under his left ear, Tisch said.
Both Tisch and New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani noted that the officers were not wearing clothing that indicated they were law enforcement personnel and said at least one officer was carrying a long gun.
“They wore construction vests and masks that concealed their faces. There was no reasonable way to identify them as ICE agents,” Mamdani said at a late-night news conference. “School had just gotten out. The street was crowded with families and children.”
When New York City police arrived on the scene after the shooting, Belgal was handcuffed and sitting on the ground, local officials said. Police officers placed him in their vehicle and offered medical aid, Tisch said.
He was taken to a hospital and was “conscious and receiving medical attention,” the New York Police Department said in a statement after the shooting.
Mamdani said he spent two hours on the phone Thursday night with President Donald Trump and Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin negotiating for Belgal’s release.
Instead, ICE “put the man in an unmarked vehicle and whisked him away,” Mamdani said.
DHS did not explain why the officer fired his weapon. Tisch said Belgal had two previous arrests in New York City: one for robbery in 2023 and one for the criminal sale of a controlled substance in 2025.
Tisch also said that although the police investigation is preliminary, they believe the 5-year-old boy is Belgal’s son. Police confirmed that the boy is staying with a family member, she said.
Belgal’s vehicle had ballistic damage to the front windshield, the back window was shattered, and the car was perpendicular to the road, Tisch said. A gray, four-door sedan belonging to ICE was also found at the scene with damage to a front panel and a disconnected lower panel.
Federal immigration officers have killed two immigrants and injured a third in shootings during enforcement operations since July. All three of those incidents involved officers firing at people who were inside their vehicles. Those and previous shootings have ignited outrage from Democrats, immigration advocates and family members of the deceased, who say that ICE is using excessive force against people who do not represent a threat.
In its statement, DHS emphasized that Belgal had been released by New York officials after his earlier arrests. “When dangerous illegal aliens are released back onto the streets by radical sanctuary politicians, our officers are forced to make arrests at large in the community,” the statement said.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) called ICE a “rogue agency” and said “New Yorkers are outraged, immigrant communities are terrified,” and residents are “demanding answers.”
“No child should ever have to experience the terror of gunfire, let alone wonder if they’ll make it home safe,” Hochul said in a statement. “Federal authorities need to provide answers, and they must do so immediately.”
Hochul later posted on social media that she had spoken with Trump and Mullin about the shooting. “I expressed outrage on behalf of New Yorkers and urged them to halt ICE enforcement operations in New York.”
She also said she had asked that any body-camera footage of the incident be released to the public.
Marble Hill is part of the borough of Manhattan and bordered by the Bronx. According to a 2020 New York City demographics study, the area is 71 percent Latino.
Although Mamdani campaigned on a promise to protect New Yorkers from ICE, federal immigration operations have continued in city neighborhoods over the past year. The operations, which frustrate immigrant rights advocates, often appear focused on targeted individuals as opposed to broad sweeps similar to those ICE has deployed in other cities, including Minneapolis.
In early September, Mullin traveled to New York to announce that 2,197 undocumented immigrants had been arrested in the region in August. Mullin said the actions, dubbed Operation Rotten Apple, included arrests of individuals who had committed violent crimes.
Immigration rights advocates have been increasingly frustrated that New York City police officers, who are barred by law from cooperating with ICE, have been spotted near federal agents during arrests. Police officials have stressed that they are there to maintain public order and safety, and do not assist in federal immigration enforcement.
On Thursday night, immigrant rights demonstrators gathered outside the hospital where Belgal was being treated. Videos from the scene showed demonstrators trying to push past police barricades and clashing with officers.
Craig reported from New York. N. Kirkpatrick contributed to this report.
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