ICE Agent Shoots Man in Bronx Car With Child in Backseat

An Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent opened fire on a 28-year-old man inside his vehicle in the Marble Hill section of the Bronx on Thursday afternoon, striking him multiple times while his five-year-old son sat in the back seat. The man, identified by federal officials as Oscar Belgal, a Dominican national with prior arrests, was hospitalized and remains alive. The child was not physically injured.

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani condemned the shooting as unconscionable and called on President Donald Trump to halt all ICE enforcement actions inside the city. Mamdani said he had spoken directly with Trump and Homeland Security Secretary Mullin to demand an end to operations that he described as terrorizing immigrant communities. He noted that the agents surrounded the vehicle before discharging their weapons and pressed for the immediate release of body camera footage.

New York Governor Kathy Hochul also contacted the White House and expressed outrage on behalf of state residents. She requested public release of all video evidence to establish a clear record of events. Hochul’s intervention underscores the growing friction between state and city leaders and federal immigration authorities operating under expanded enforcement priorities.

Department of Homeland Security officials described Belgal as a criminal illegal alien with a conviction for grand larceny and earlier arrests involving assault, robbery, drugs and weapons. They said he had been arrested by New York police in December 2023 and released shortly afterward under local sanctuary policies. The agency added that Belgal had ties to the Trinitarios gang and argued that such releases force agents to conduct arrests in unpredictable public settings. Critics of the administration’s approach counter that aggressive street-level tactics increase the risk of violent encounters, particularly when children are present.

The incident fits a documented pattern. Federal immigration agents have shot at least 21 people since Trump returned to office, seven of them fatally. Advocacy groups have pointed to the surge in operations as a direct result of stepped-up deportation targets that prioritize volume over measured enforcement. Mamdani has long called for the abolition of ICE, arguing that the agency’s presence in schools, hospitals and neighborhoods undermines public safety rather than enhances it.

Eyewitness accounts and police statements placed the confrontation in a residential area during daylight hours. Federal agents approached the vehicle around 4 p.m., according to initial reports, and opened fire after surrounding it. Body camera footage has not yet been made public despite repeated requests from elected officials.

The White House referred questions to DHS, which reiterated its criticism of sanctuary jurisdictions. Trump has not issued a public statement on the shooting. Belgal’s family has not released a comment through attorneys, and local prosecutors have not indicated whether they will open an independent review.

The episode has renewed debate over the balance between immigration enforcement and community safety in New York. City leaders maintain that federal agents operating without local coordination heighten tensions and endanger bystanders. Federal authorities insist that non-cooperation by local police necessitates more intrusive tactics. With body camera evidence still pending and negotiations over Belgal’s medical care ongoing, both sides are preparing for prolonged scrutiny of the circumstances that led an agent to fire into a vehicle occupied by a young child.