Oscar Belgal has been named as the man shot by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent in New York City on Thursday.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) sent Newsweek a photo of Belgal, confirming that an ICE officer “discharged his weapon and the criminal illegal alien was injured.”
“At least one ICE agent discharged seven rounds, striking the driver in the neck below his left ear,” NYC Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch told reporters on Thursday night, citing evidence collected at the scene.
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She added that members of the NYPD were responding to an unrelated call nearby when they heard a report of the shots fired and responded to the scene.
“When they arrived, they encountered several men in various forms of attire, including some in construction-style vests, face masks, and at least one carrying a long gun,” Tisch said. “Our officers also encountered the injured individual handcuffed and seated on the ground. Our officers immediately placed him into an NYPD vehicle and rendered aid.”
Who Is Oscar Belgal?
In a statement after the shooting, DHS did not identify Belgal, 28, but referred to him as “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.”
Belgal was driving in the Marble Hill neighborhood around 4 p.m. on October 8. New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani said on Thursday that Belgal was in the car with a 5-year-old child when an ICE agent shot him. The child was unharmed.
Tisch later told reporters that police believe the child to be Belgal’s son.
DHS said Belgal is associated with the Trinitarios gang, which shot a CBP agent last year. New York court records show Belgal was arrested in December 2023 and in January 2025.
He is the defendant in multiple pending criminal cases, including cases involving robbery, weapons, menacing, and drug- and theft-related charges. Court records indicate Belgal has pleaded not guilty to those charges.
What Is the Trinitarios Gang?
The Trinitarios is a Dominican American criminal street gang that originated on Rikers Island in New York in 1993. According to federal prosecutors, the group was initially formed by Dominican inmates for protection inside the jail and later expanded into a street gang with a presence in New York and other parts of the United States.
The U.S. Department of Justice describes the gang as a hierarchical organization with local chapters and written rules governing membership, discipline and gang activities.
Despite the DHS statement linking Belgal to the gang, no independent evidence of any gang involvement has been made public.
Protesters Clash, Politicians Speak Out
As news of Belgal’s shooting spread, so did outrage. Protesters clashed with law enforcement in the city overnight as demonstrators marched to the hospital where Belgal is being treated. Some protesters shoved at police barriers and threw water bottles.
Alongside public unrest, a number of politicians have spoken out about the incident.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, who represents the 8th congressional district in Brooklyn, called for a full independent investigation into what he described as “rogue” behavior. He added that he was “deeply disturbed” by reports that a man was shot with a child in the vehicle.
New York City Councilmember Tiffany Cabán condemned ICE following the shooting, calling for the agency to leave the city and be abolished.
“Every day that this rogue agency continues to roam our streets, tearing families apart, and holding our loved ones in camps, we see more tragedies like these,” she said.
Mamdani condemned the shooting during a news conference on Thursday night. He said he had spoken with President Donald Trump and Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin to negotiate the man’s release, but that “those negotiations were unsuccessful.”
The mayor said he wanted ICE officers out of New York, adding: “What happened today was an outrage. When ICE agents opened fire, a 5-year-old child was in the back seat of the car. Thank God that child is physically unharmed.”
“We know that ICE is rotten to its core. Today’s shooting is only further devastating confirmation of what we have long known,” Mamdani added.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul also called for a halt of ICE enforcement operations in the city and said she, too, spoke with the president and Mullin about the shooting late on Thursday.
“I expressed outrage on behalf of New Yorkers and urged them to halt ICE enforcement operations in New York,” Hochul wrote on X, adding that she requested the release of body camera footage.
Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Matthew Robinson and Shakeema Edwards.