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US immigration officials have defended federal agents who shot and wounded a man in his car in New York. The man’s five-year-old son was also in the back seat at the time. New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani criticized the agents.
Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said Friday that officers did not know a child was in the car when they opened fire. He accused Oscar Belgal of putting both the agents and the child at risk.
According to Marcos Charles, a senior Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) official, Belgal refused to get out of his car on Thursday when agents approached him in the Marble Hill section of Manhattan. Charles said Belgal accelerated, struck two ICE vehicles and tried to drive at the agents. The officers then opened fire.
Footage filmed after the incident shows a damaged car in the Bronx borough of New York.
Body-camera footage released
Charles said Belgal sustained a superficial wound to his neck and is being held at a detention facility outside New York state. The New York Police Department said Belgal’s five-year-old son was in the back seat during the shooting.
Body-camera footage released by the New York Police Department reportedly shows Belgal handcuffed beside the car, with what appear to be traces of blood on the ground. A crowd gathers around several agents standing nearby and protests. Police officers later escort Belgal to a patrol car and take him to hospital.
Mamdani and Mullin trade criticism
On Thursday, October 8, Mamdani condemned ICE at the scene, calling the agency “rotten to its core.” He said he had tried to contact US President Donald Trump and Mullin to secure Belgal’s release but was unsuccessful.
Mullin criticized Mamdani on Friday, as well as New York’s “sanctuary city” policy, which in some cases limits local authorities’ cooperation with federal immigration agencies.
Legal Aid, which represents Belgal in court, also condemned the shooting. The organization called for greater accountability for the agents and urged city prosecutors to investigate the incident.
The shooting comes amid increased use of force during immigration enforcement operations under Donald Trump, who returned to office in January 2025 and pledged mass deportations. ICE is the federal agency responsible for enforcing immigration laws and investigating cross-border crime.
