ICE Agent Shoots Man in Car with 5-Year-Old Child During New York Operation

A 28-year-old man was shot by a federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent in New York City on Thursday afternoon while sitting inside a vehicle with a five-year-old boy.

The incident occurred around 4:00 p.m. in the Marble Hill neighborhood. City Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch explained that the driver, identified by local police as Oscar Belgal, was pulling into a parking spot when a plainclothes federal officer approached with a drawn firearm, joined by a second un-uniformed officer. When the vehicle began moving forward, at least one officer fired seven rounds into the car, striking Belgal below his left ear.

The five-year-old child was physically unharmed and was later placed in the care of a relative. Belgal remained conscious and was taken to a local hospital for medical treatment before federal authorities removed him from the facility late Thursday evening.

Conflicting Statements from Federal and Local Officials

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) described the event as a "targeted enforcement operation" aimed at apprehending a Dominican national who entered the country unlawfully. Federal officials stated the individual holds a prior conviction for grand larceny alongside arrests for assault, robbery, and drug and weapons possession, while alleging links to the Trinitarios street gang.

DHS confirmed that "during the incident, an ICE officer discharged his weapon" and that an investigation remains active.

New York elected officials sharply criticized the federal agency's actions. Mayor Zohran Mamdani noted that officers wore masks and construction vests without clear identification, adding:

"Early reports indicate agents surrounded him and a five-year-old child in his car before firing multiple rounds. We believe the child was physically unharmed."

He also said that "Today’s shooting is only further devastating confirmation of what we have long known, which is that ICE operates with impunity, that they sow chaos and terror across our country, that they have killed far more of our neighbours than they could ever have claimed to save."

New York Governor Kathy Hochul confirmed she spoke directly with President Donald Trump and Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, stating:

"I expressed outrage on behalf of New Yorkers and urged them to halt ICE enforcement operations in New York…I also asked that any body camera footage of the shooting be released to the public so we can establish the facts and get to the truth."

Protests and Wider Scrutiny of ICE Actions

Following the shooting, crowds gathered at the scene and near the medical center chanting "we want justice" and "ICE off our streets now". Demonstrators clashed with police lines at barricades, leading to multiple arrests. 

The event occurs amid broader national debate regarding ICE enforcement tactics. Federal agents have fired weapons during more than a dozen traffic stops over the past year, including high-profile fatal incidents in Minneapolis involving Renee Good and Alex Pretti.

Despite criticism, the federal government expanded ICE's footprint to over 22,000 agents following a $75 billion funding allocation signed by President Trump, who urged the department to publicize arrests of violent offenders while aiming for a target of one million deportations per year.