U.S. immigration officials have defended federal agents who shot and wounded a New York man in his car while his five-year-old son was in the back seat, as the incident drew sharp criticism from New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani.
Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said on Friday that officers did not know the child was inside the vehicle when they opened fire. He accused the man, identified as Oscar Belgal, of putting both officers and the child at risk.
According to senior Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) official Marcos Charles, Belgal refused to leave his car when approached by agents in Marble Hill, Manhattan, on Thursday. Charles said Belgal accelerated, struck two ICE vehicles and appeared to drive towards officers, prompting them to shoot.
Belgal suffered a superficial neck wound, according to Charles, and is being held in a detention facility outside New York state. New York police said his five-year-old son was in the back seat during the shooting.
Body-worn camera footage released by the New York Police Department shows Belgal handcuffed beside a car, with what appears to be blood on the ground. Several agents stood nearby as a crowd of onlookers shouts at them. Police officers later carry Belgal to a patrol car and take him to hospital.
Mamdani condemned ICE at the scene on Thursday (8 October), describing the agency as “rotten to the core”. He said he had unsuccessfully contacted U.S. President Donald Trump and Mullin to seek Belgal's release.
Mullin responded on Friday by criticising Mamdani and New York's sanctuary policies, which limit cooperation between local authorities and federal immigration officials in certain cases.
The shooting comes amid an increase in the use of force during immigration enforcement operations under Trump, who returned to office in January 2025 promising mass deportations.
Legal Aid, which has represented Belgal in court, also condemned the shooting, calling for greater accountability and urging city prosecutors to investigate the agents involved.
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