An ICE officer fired 7 shots into a car in New York, hitting a man in the neck while his 5-year-old son sat in the back seat

An ICE officer shot and wounded a man in New York City on Thursday afternoon while a five-year-old boy sat in the same car, according to city officials. Police say at least one federal officer fired seven rounds during what the Department of Homeland Security called a “targeted enforcement operation.” The child was not physically hurt. According to Associated Press News, the shooting happened around 4 p.m. in Marble Hill, a small section of Manhattan that is attached to the Bronx.

City police identified the wounded man as Oscar Belgal, a 28-year-old from the Dominican Republic. He was struck in the neck below his left ear, survived, and was taken to a hospital. DHS said it was seeking to arrest Belgal and that “during the incident, an ICE officer discharged his weapon.” The agency did not describe what led the ICE officer to fire or say whether the man was armed.

New York’s police commissioner gave a preliminary account based on surveillance footage and evidence collected at the scene. Commissioner Jessica Tisch said the footage shows Belgal backing a gray Honda CR-V into a parking space near a fire hydrant. One plainclothes federal officer approached the driver’s side with his gun drawn, and a second moved toward the headlight on that side.

Police say plainclothes officers walked up to the car with a gun drawn

The gunfire itself was not recorded, as the car began to move forward and left the camera’s view. Investigators recovered at least seven shell casings, and Tisch said the evidence indicates at least one ICE officer fired seven rounds. The vehicle had ballistic damage to its front windshield and a shattered rear window. The commissioner stressed that city police had no role in the federal operation, as her officers only responded after hearing reports of shots fired.

The boy, who is believed to be Belgal’s son, is now with a relative. DHS said its officers immediately rendered aid. However, Tisch said arriving city police found the wounded man handcuffed and seated on the ground, gave him medical assistance, and drove him to New York-Presbyterian Allen Hospital. He arrived there in stable condition. Mayor Zohran Mamdani called the shooting an “outrage” and said the officers were hard to identify as law enforcement, as they wore construction-style vests and masks.

“There is no explanation for federal officers firing this many rounds into a car that has a five-year-old in the car,” he said. The mayor also renewed his call to abolish the agency. DHS described Belgal as a “criminal illegal alien” with a grand larceny conviction and other prior arrests. Tisch said he was arrested for robbery in 2023, pleaded guilty to fourth-degree grand larceny and received five years of probation. A 2025 drug sale case is still pending, and he has pleaded not guilty.

The federal agency added that the FBI is involved in the investigation. Mamdani said he spent two hours on the phone with President Donald Trump and Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin trying to negotiate the man’s release. He said those talks failed and that federal authorities removed Belgal from the hospital in an unmarked vehicle. Gov. Kathy Hochul said she urged both men to halt ICE operations in New York and release any body camera footage.

Demonstrators gathered at the scene and later marched to the hospital, where clashes with police led to some arrests. DHS responded to that report by calling its operations “highly targeted.” The outlet reported that ICE officers have fired their weapons during more than a dozen vehicle stops since last year, killing at least four people.

In late September, the agency reportedly ordered officers not to conduct high-speed chases and to make vehicle stops only after completing specific training. Federal agents have taken control of the investigation, and it remains to be seen whether any body camera footage of the ICE officer firing into the car will be released publicly.