MARBLE HILL, The Bronx (WABC) — Four people were arrested while protesting outside the hospital where a man was rushed after he was shot by an ICE agent in Manhattan on Thursday.
Around 11 p.m., Belgal was driven away from the hospital by ICE agents in unmarked vehicles. It was not immediately clear where he was taken.
Hundreds of protesters surrounded the hospital as the vehicles departed, shouting as they passed and continuing demonstrations into the night. The scene drew a significant police response as crowds spilled onto nearby streets.
Police said four of those protesters were arrested on charges of obstructing governmental administration and were issued court appearance tickets.
Protesters described immigration enforcement activity as a threat to public safety and said ICE agents were not welcome in New York communities.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani spoke out at a news conference less than an hour before midnight, calling what happened earlier in the day “an outrage.”
“ICE undermines public safety. It makes us less safe,” Mamdani said. “This is an agency that must be abolished.”
Mayor Mamdani and Commissioner Jessica Tisch hold update on ICE shooting.
The mayor said he spent hours on the phone with President Donald Trump and DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin, negotiating the release of the 28-year-old man, which he says proved unsuccessful.
Meanwhile, Bronx residents and elected officials expressed anger over the incident, which left local police dealing with the aftermath on city streets.
“We want ICE the (expletive) out of our neighborhood,” said Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson.
“When ICE shows up in our communities, we know what’s going to happen. It is what happened to Alex Pretti. It is what continues to happen across this nation,” said New York City Council Member Carmen De La Rosa.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said the operation was targeted at arresting an undocumented man associated with the Trinitarios gang.
The agency 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.”
Public Advocate Jumaane Williams criticized federal authorities and pushed back on how the incident could be characterized.
“They’re going to try to make the gentleman they shot the worst human being you’ve ever heard of. But I want you to know that a father picking up his child was shot by a rogue agency controlled by Donald Trump,” Williams said.
Federal authorities inspected a bullet hole left in a vehicle. ICE recently set a daily target of 3,000 arrests per day, up from 2,000, according to ABC News sources, though federal authorities are not calling it a quota.
“If you’re in the country illegally you have a problem. You shouldn’t be here,” White House border czar Tom Homan said.
Local politicians described the incident as terror in their communities.
“What happened here Thursday was predictable. For the last few weeks and months, ICE has been congregating at Van Cortlandt Park, at the Target parking lot,” one speaker said at the gathering.
The incident also drew political response ahead of the midterm elections.
“We are going to abolish ICE, and we’re going to take that to the federal level and do it in Congress,” said Darializa Avila Chevalier, a Democratic candidate for the 13th Congressional District.
Gov. Kathy Hochul is calling for “full transparency” from federal authorities, and also said she spoke with the president and DHS Secretary Mullin, urging them to “halt ICE enforcement operations in New York,” and release body camera footage of the shooting to the public.
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