ICE Agent Shoots Man in Bronx Car With Child in Backseat

An Immigration and Customs Enforcement operation in New York City ended with an agent firing at a man seated in a vehicle that also held his five-year-old son. The October 8 shooting in the Marble Hill section of the Bronx left 28-year-old Oscar Belgal wounded in the neck and prompted immediate demands from city and state leaders for greater transparency and a pause in federal enforcement.

New York Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch reported that officers received multiple 911 calls at approximately 4 p.m. describing shots fired near 2 Marble Hill Avenue. Initial investigation showed plainclothes federal agents approaching a gray vehicle to arrest Belgal. One agent stood at the driver’s window with a drawn firearm while another positioned near the headlight. The vehicle then moved forward, after which at least one agent fired seven rounds, striking Belgal below his left ear. Belgal remained conscious, received aid at the scene, and was transported in stable condition to New York-Presbyterian Allen Hospital. The child was later placed with a family member following a wellness check.

The Department of Homeland Security described the action as a targeted enforcement operation against a Dominican national with a prior grand larceny conviction and additional arrests for assault, robbery, drug possession, and weapons possession. DHS stated Belgal had been arrested by New York police in December 2023 and released days later, and it alleged ties to the Trinitarios gang. ICE officers rendered immediate medical aid after the shooting, the department said.

Mayor Zohran Mamdani called the incident unconscionable and stated he had spoken with President Trump and Homeland Security Secretary Mullin without securing the man’s release. He demanded that ICE cease enforcement actions inside New York City. Governor Kathy Hochul also spoke with Trump, expressed outrage on behalf of New Yorkers, and requested public release of body-camera footage. Trump had not commented publicly by late Thursday. Representative Ritchie Torres described the volume of shots into a vehicle containing a child as abhorrent, while Representative Adriano Espaillat reported being denied access to the victim.

The encounter occurred amid broader enforcement activity that has produced more than twenty reported shootings by federal immigration agents since January, according to tallies cited by multiple news organizations. City officials noted that nearly half of recent ICE arrests in New York State took place inside the five boroughs. The incident remains under investigation by federal and local authorities.