ICE officer fires seven shots at car in New York, wounding man in neck as his 5-year-old son sits in back seat
A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer fired seven shots at a vehicle during an attempted arrest in New York City on Thursday, striking 28-year-old Oscar Belgal in the neck while his 5-year-old son was sitting in the back seat, according to Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch. Belgal was taken to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries and was in stable condition, while the child was unharmed and later placed in the care of a family member.
The shooting occurred at about 4 p.m. in the Marble Hill neighborhood. Tisch said plainclothes ICE officers approached Belgal’s vehicle as he parked, with one officer approaching the driver’s window with a gun drawn. As Belgal began moving the vehicle, an officer opened fire, striking him below his left ear.
The Department of Homeland Security said ICE officers were carrying out a “targeted enforcement operation” to arrest Belgal, a Dominican national with a previous grand larceny conviction and other arrests. DHS alleged that Belgal attempted to ram officers’ vehicles, while city authorities said the circumstances leading to the use of deadly force remain under investigation.
New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani condemned the shooting and called for an end to ICE enforcement operations in the city. Gov. Kathy Hochul also demanded answers from federal authorities and called for the release of any body-camera footage. Protesters later gathered outside the hospital where Belgal was being treated.
The incident comes amid heightened scrutiny of federal immigration enforcement tactics under the Trump administration. Federal immigration officers have been involved in several shootings during vehicle-based enforcement encounters in recent months, fueling disputes between the administration and Democratic-led cities over ICE operations, use of force and local sanctuary policies.
