ICE Agent Shoots Person in Bronx With Child in the Car, Victim Is Hospitalized But Stable After Incident

An ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations agent shot and wounded a 28-year-old man during a targeted immigration enforcement operation in the Marble Hill neighborhood of the Bronx, New York City, on Thursday afternoon, October 8.

According to the Department of Homeland Security, ICE officers were attempting to box in the suspect's vehicle to make an arrest when the driver rammed the ICE vehicles. At least one federal agent opened fire, discharging multiple rounds into the car.

A 5-year-old child was sitting in the back seat of the vehicle during the gunfire. The child was physically uninjured and has since been reunited with relatives.

Law enforcement sources identified the man as Oscar Belgal, a citizen of the Dominican Republic. He suffered non-life-threatening injuries, including a graze wound to the neck, and is in stable condition at an area hospital.

DHS stated that Belgal has prior criminal convictions and arrests for robbery, drugs, and weapons, and has documented ties to the Trinitarios street gang.

This marks the first shooting involving ICE agents in New York City since President Donald Trump initiated his nationwide immigration enforcement crackdown. Nationally, federal immigration agents have shot at least 21 people since Trump took office, seven of them fatally, including mother Renee Good and nurse Alex Pretti.

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani denounced the operation, calling the situation "unconscionable" due to the presence of the child and urging President Trump to halt localized ICE actions.

“Tonight, a 5-year-old child sits traumatized and terrified. Tonight, millions of our neighbors are wondering whether they will be safe on our streets, in our schools, at their work sites,” Mamdani said. "These actions are making the city less safe. This city wants ICE out. We want ICE out of our city, ICE out of our schools, ICE out of our hospitals, ICE out of our streets, ICE away from our kids."

"We will not normalize ICE's viciousness; we will not accept its cruelty... ICE undermines public safety. It makes us less safe. NYC will not stand by while ICE agents shoot New Yorkers... this is an agency that must be abolished,” the mayor concluded.

The New York Police Department confirmed they were not involved in the execution of the operation or the shooting itself, though local police transported the wounded man to the hospital.

Gov. Kathy Hochul issued a swift rebuke after a conversation with Trump and DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin.

"New Yorkers have witnessed far too many acts of violence by a rogue federal agency and untrained agents that operate with impunity. Federal authorities need to provide answers, and they must do so immediately,” she said.

She noted she expressed "outrage on behalf of New Yorkers," adding, "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.”