On Thursday, Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents shot and wounded an undocumented immigrant with a criminal past as he attempted to flee the scene with a five-year-old child in the back seat of his car, officials said.

The shooting occurred during an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operation on Marble Hill Avenue around 4 p.m., the sources said.

One source indicated that the person shot, identified by law enforcement sources as Oscar Belgal, was apparently inside a vehicle when at least one agent opened fire. Belgal is expected to survive.

Department of Homeland Security officials said Oscar Belgal is connected to the Trinitarios street gang. They said he has numerous past arrests for robbery, drugs and other crimes.

DHS said as ICE-ERO officers tried to box in his car and make the arrest, Belgal “rammed” the ICE vehicles. One senior law enforcement official said at least five shots were fired by law enforcement. Belgal is hospitalized in stable condition with a wound to his neck, officials said. The five-year-old child was not hurt and is back with relatives, one official said.

An extensive police investigation has focused on a black sedan believed to be the vehicle involved in the shooting. A senior official indicated that a 5-year-old child was in the back seat of the car at the time of the incident.

Investigators said Belgal is from the Dominican Republic. “He has associations with the Trinitarios gang, the same gang who brutally shot a CBP officer last year,” DHS said in a statement.

Several law enforcement sources reported that an ICE team was in the neighborhood searching for a man with a criminal record. A senior official indicated that the suspect had a prior arrest for robbery that resulted in a grand theft conviction and an open drug case.

“The NYPD was not involved in the incident and was not at the scene at the time of the shooting. The injured person is at a nearby hospital, conscious and receiving medical treatment,” the NYPD stated.

Dozens of demonstrators showed up outside Columbia Presbyterian Allen Hospital, where Belgal is being treated, to protest against ICE and the shooting in which a child was in the back seat of the suspect’s car. 

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani issued a statement condemning the shooting.

“This is an unconscionable and incredibly serious situation. I have called the President; when we speak, I will demand that he end all ICE enforcement actions in our city. I will not stand by while ICE agents terrorize our communities.”

DHS in turn criticized New York’s sanctuary policies.

“This criminal illegal alien was arrested by the NYPD on December 7, 2023, but was released into the community a few days later by reckless Democrat sanctuary policies that put American lives at risk.”

DHS was joined by the FBI to help investigate the shooting. NYPD was on scene and assisting with crowd control.  

This ICE-related shooting of a suspected gang member in New York comes after other controversial ICE-related enforcement actions by the Trump administration. In January in Minneapolis, Renee Good was shot and killed in her vehicle as she drove forward and turned as an ICE officer approached her car. That incident sparked national protests.

DHS officials said Belgal can be tied to a gang that took part in scooter robberies. Two gang members were recently convicted for taking part in the robbery and shooting of an off-duty Customs officer in a park in upper Manhattan.  

Two sources and a preliminary summary by DHS allege Belgal attempted to “ram his vehicle” into ERO officers.

A call to a public defender who represents Belgal for a previous drug arrest did not return a call for comment.

The NYPD says it was not at the scene when shots were fired, and its officers were not involved in the incident.

Police said it was their officers who rendered aid and took the injured man to the hospital.

Video obtained by News 4 shows the aftermath of the scene as well as Belgal bloodied and in handcuffs awaiting transport to the hospital.

Protesters initially gathered at the scene of the shooting but then marched to New York Presbyterian Allen Hospital where they clashed with police.

Iris Rosa heard the gunfire and rushed over to the scene. She said the shots were fired as kids were coming home from school.

Rosa said she saw multiple ICE agents surround a man on the ground in handcuffs.

“I kept asking him if he was okay, and he was like, ‘the kid! They shot me, and I was shot in the neck, I’m dying. Help me!” said Rosa.

Governor Hochul also released a statement online.

Tonight, I spoke with President Trump and DHS Secretary Mullin about the shooting in Marble Hill.

I expressed outrage on behalf of New Yorkers and urged them to halt ICE enforcement operations in New York.

I also asked that any body camera footage of the shooting be released to…

— Governor Kathy Hochul (@GovKathyHochul) October 9, 2026

Read the full statement from ICE

ICE released a statement regarding the incident.

“On October 8, at approximately 4:00 PM ET, ICE officers were conducting a targeted enforcement operation in the Bronx, New York, to arrest a criminal illegal alien from the Dominican Republic with a prior criminal conviction for grand larceny, and multiple prior arrests for assault, robbery, possession of drugs, and weapons possession. He has associations to the Trinitarios gang, the same gang who brutally shot a CBP officer last year,” the statement said.

“This criminal illegal alien was arrested by the NYPD on December 7, 2023, but was released into the community a few days later by reckless Democrat sanctuary policies that put American lives at risk,” they added.

“During the incident, an ICE officer discharged his weapon and the criminal illegal alien was injured.”

“ICE officers immediately rendered aid. The individual is alive and at a local hospital. The FBI and HSI are on the scene. The incident remains under investigation. More information will be shared as it becomes available,” the statement said.

“When dangerous illegal aliens are released back onto the streets by radical sanctuary politicians, our officers are forced to make arrests at large in the community in unpredictable and dangerous environments. Our officers should not have to risk their lives, and innocent Americans should not have to face unnecessary danger, because sanctuary politicians refuse to cooperate with federal law enforcement,” the ICE statement concluded.