Mayor Zohran Mamdani on Sunday compared the ICE agent who shot a man in Marble Hill — while the victim’s 5-year-old child sat in the car — to a mass shooter, as newly released footage showed the moments surrounding the controversial encounter.
Body camera footage released by the NYPD shows officers responding to Thursday afternoon’s shooting and encountering an ICE agent wearing a construction vest and holding a long gun.
“He’s got a gun,” one officer says as the police vehicle comes to a stop.
Surveillance footage released by authorities also captures fragments of the moments leading up to the shooting. One agent can be seen rushing toward 28-year-old Oscar Bergal’s Honda and displaying a gun. The footage does not clearly show whether the agent identified himself as a federal officer.
FBI investigates following the ICE shooting in Marble Hill.Photo by Dean Moses
Bergal immediately drives away as shots ring out, according to another surveillance angle. Nearby pedestrians can be seen ducking for cover. The footage was the focus of Mamdani’s appearance Sunday on MS NOW’s Connect with Jacob Soboroff, where the mayor sharply criticized the actions that led to Bergal being shot.
“I think that what they (ICE) have shown time and again is that they view the law as a suggestion. There is a reason why the NYPD would not be shooting at a moving vehicle. There is a reason why law enforcement agents are supposed to wear identifiable information and uniforms,” Mamdani said. “What you could see in that video; and in the videos that have been released since, is people, bystanders outside, unsure as to what they were even seeing, because in that imagery, it is as if you’re almost looking at a mass shooter, as opposed to seeing someone who’s purportedly representing a federal agency.”
On Thursday night, Mamdani said he had attempted to negotiate Bergal’s release with President Trump but was unable to reach an agreement. Bergal, a Dominican native, was subsequently taken from nearby NewYork-Presbyterian Allen Hospital as protesters were pushed back by local police.
The Oct. 8 shooting marked another flashpoint in the growing controversy over the deployment of ICE agents across New York City, a broader concern Mamdani also addressed Sunday.
The ICE agent seen at the scene was also present on Canal Street in 2025.Photo by Dean Moses
“That is why so many are so deeply concerned by what ICE does, and the fact that what we’re talking about is but a microcosm,” he added.
The ICE agent seen holding the long gun at the shooting scene has previously been observed participating in federal enforcement operations in New York. In October 2025, amNewYork witnessed the same individual taking part in a federal raid on Canal Street, where protests erupted over mass arrests and demonstrators were roughed up. The agent was also seen detaining immigrants attending court hearings they were legally required to attend, separating families. He was also present in Minneapolis when a pregnant woman was dragged from her vehicle.
The Marble Hill shooting has sparked outrage across the city, with several protests breaking out and drawing criticism of the NYPD’s response.
Darializa Avila Chevalier, the Democratic nominee for Congress who was pushed to the ground during police clashes that night, called on NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch to resign.
“Instead of condemning ICE’s violence, Police Commissioner Tisch attempted to justify the shooting by reading off our neighbor’s past interactions with police,” Chevalier said after Tisch referenced Bergal’s prior arrests.
The Department of Homeland Security has also claimed Bergal was associated with the Trinitarios gang and described him as a “criminal illegal alien.”
Meanwhile, sources say Tisch has no plans to step down, and Mamdani does not intend to ask her to resign.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch.Photo by Dean Moses