US Homeland Security defends ICE shooting in New York, says agents believed they were threatened
Theo Al Jazeera
The Department of Homeland Security defended an ICE shooting in New York City that wounded a man as his 5-year-old child sat in the back seat, saying agents believed they were in danger. The incident sparked protests in the Bronx, and Mayor Zohran Mamdani condemned the shooting and demanded ICE halt operations in the city.
The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has defended an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer's shooting of a man in New York City while his child was present. Federal officials used the episode to criticize "sanctuary city" policies that limit cooperation with federal immigration authorities.
New York officials condemned the shooting and called on ICE to halt operations in the city.
According to accounts of the incident, it unfolded on Thursday afternoon when ICE officers moved to arrest a man identified by New York City police as Oscar Belgal. At a Friday press conference, Homeland Security officials gave their version of events, saying Belgal refused to get out of his vehicle when approached, then accelerated and rammed two ICE vehicles.
They said officers then opened fire, grazing Belgal's neck, while his 5-year-old child was in the back seat. According to Homeland Security officials, Belgal received first aid and was taken to a hospital before being transferred to a secure detention facility outside New York state. They did not disclose where he is being held.
Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said the officers did not know a child was in the vehicle at the time they fired. Senior ICE official Marcos Charles said officers were seeking to arrest Belgal as part of an investigation into suspected gang ties in an earlier shooting targeting a US Customs and Border Protection officer.
According to US officials, Belgal is an undocumented immigrant from the Dominican Republic who had evaded arrest and received a five-year prison sentence in April 2025 for grand larceny.
"[Belgal] is a thug," Mullin said at the Friday press conference. "The worst of the worst."
Mullin confirmed the officers were wearing body cameras but that the footage has not been released. New York City police on Friday released body-camera footage from officers who responded to the 911 call about the incident.
In other cases of violence involving federal immigration officers, video evidence has contradicted initial accounts from ICE and Homeland Security officials, including in Minneapolis, where footage of fatal shootings involving Alex Pretti and Renee Good challenged federal descriptions of the confrontations.
The latest shooting sparked protests on Thursday night in the Bronx, where the incident occurred. Demonstrators condemned ICE and called for the agency to be abolished. Tensions rose after New York police clashed with some protesters.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani condemned the shooting and said he had called US President Donald Trump to demand an end to ICE enforcement operations in the city.
Speaking to reporters at the scene on Thursday night, Mamdani said he had tried but failed to secure Belgal's release in calls with Trump and Mullin.
"These actions are making the city less safe," Mamdani said. "ICE is rotten to the core."
Mullin accused Mamdani of putting politics above public safety and said Trump had offered to hand Belgal over to New York police if they prosecuted him. Mullin said Mamdani rejected the offer.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani gives an update about the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) shooting in the Bronx borough of New York, October 8, 2026 [AFP]
