An ICE agent shot 28-year-old Oscar Belgal in the neck during an attempted arrest in Marble Hill, northern Manhattan, on Thursday evening, while a five-year-old boy believed to be his son was inside the vehicle, according to New York City officials. The child was not injured.
New York Police Department Commissioner Jessica Tisch said the federal agent fired seven rounds into Belgal’s vehicle during the incident. Belgal was taken to a local hospital for treatment after the shooting.
NYPD officers became involved after hearing gunfire in the area, Tisch said. The circumstances surrounding the shooting have drawn criticism from New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who condemned the incident and challenged the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement tactics.
The US Department of Homeland Security said federal officers were conducting a targeted operation to arrest an undocumented immigrant with a criminal record. The department also alleged that the intended target had links to the Trinitarios gang. These allegations were attributed to DHS and were not independently established in the information provided.
Tisch said Belgal had previously been arrested in connection with a 2023 robbery case and a 2025 charge involving the criminal sale of a controlled substance. In the 2023 case, he pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of fourth-degree larceny. The 2025 case remains pending, meaning it has not yet been resolved in court.
DHS confirmed that an ICE officer shot a man during the attempted arrest. The department said agents “immediately rendered aid” following the shooting.
Mamdani described the shooting as an “outrage” and accused the Trump administration of “terrorizing our city.” He also said he had contacted President Donald Trump and Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin in an attempt to negotiate Belgal’s release, but the effort was unsuccessful.
Protests followed the shooting, reflecting the wider tensions surrounding federal immigration enforcement in New York City. CBS News reported that five people were arrested during the demonstrations.
The incident has raised questions about the use of force during federal immigration operations, particularly when children or other bystanders are present. The child inside Belgal’s vehicle was unharmed, but the full circumstances leading to the seven shots, including the events immediately before the agent opened fire, were not detailed in the information available.
