Police said five people were taken into custody as protests swelled Thursday night after Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers shot a man in northern Manhattan.
NYPD officials said the people were all charged with obstructing governmental administration and resisting arrest. They were given desk appearance tickets, which requires that they appear in court on a specific date rather than wait in custody in jail.
Officers made the arrests near West 120th Street and Broadway, where about 200 protesters gathered following the shooting of 28-year-old Oscar Belgal. NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said a plainclothes federal officer approached the driver’s side window of Belgal’s car with his gun drawn while another officer approached the front of the vehicle.
The car then moved out of the camera’s view, and the surveillance footage did not capture the shooting. Tisch said the ICE agents fired seven rounds at Belgal, striking him in the neck. He was taken to NewYork-Presbyterian Allen Hospital in stable condition. The NYPD referred Gothamist to the Department of Homeland Security for further updates.
A 5-year-old boy believed to be Belgal’s son was inside the vehicle during the encounter, Tisch said. Police later located the child safe and in the care of a family member.
Mayor Zorhan Mamdani on Thursday evening addressed a crowd near the deli where Belgal was shot, saying he had spoken with President Donald Trump and Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, trying to negotiate Belgal’s release from federal custody.
“Those negotiations were unsuccessful,” Mamdani said. “Just moments ago, ICE put the man in an unmarked vehicle and whisked him away.” As of Friday morning Belgal remained in federal custody.
As state and local governments negotiate with federal authorities, Gov. Kathy Hochl urged that ICE operations be halted in New York and for bodycam footage to be released to the public.
“We expect federal authorities to provide a full and transparent accounting of the circumstances surrounding this incident,” Hochul said. “New Yorkers deserve to know exactly what happened and why.”
This story is developing and will be updated.