Oscar Belgal, a 28-year-old Dominican national, was shot in the neck by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer on Thursday afternoon while driving with his 5-year-old son in New York City’s Marble Hill neighborhood. He survived the shooting, and his son was not physically injured.
According to the Department of Homeland Security, federal officers were attempting to arrest Belgal when he refused orders to get out of his vehicle and accelerated toward the officers. Federal officials said they opened fire because they believed they were in danger. At least one officer fired seven rounds, according to New York City Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch.
The officers were wearing civilian clothing, construction-style vests and face coverings, according to city officials. NYPD surveillance footage shows two plainclothes officers approaching the vehicle with their weapons drawn before the car moves out of the camera’s view. The footage does not capture the shooting.
When NYPD officers arrived, they found Belgal handcuffed on the ground with a gunshot wound. The officers, who had been responding to an unrelated call nearby, transported him to a hospital.
Belgal was later transferred to federal custody. His lawyers said the bullet remained lodged in his body and that he was experiencing pain. He is being held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn.
Federal authorities said Belgal had been a target of ICE enforcement efforts for some time. He had a grand larceny conviction, for which he received five years of probation, and a pending drug-related case. ICE had attempted to detain him in September but was unsuccessful.
Belgal’s lawyers filed an emergency petition to stop his deportation. A federal judge temporarily blocked the government from deporting him while the legal proceedings continue. The order does not require his release from custody.
The shooting drew criticism from New York officials. Mayor Zohran Mamdani condemned the officers’ actions and called for ICE to end its operations in New York City.
Gov. Kathy Hochul also criticized the incident. Both Mamdani and Hochul said they had tried to persuade President Donald Trump and Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin to secure Belgal’s release, but their requests were unsuccessful.
The shooting also prompted protests in New York City, where demonstrators criticized ICE’s actions. Some protesters clashed with police, and five people were taken into custody Thursday night, according to CBS New York.
The incident has added to tensions between New York officials and the Trump administration over ICE operations. The investigation and legal proceedings are ongoing as Belgal’s lawyers continue to challenge his detention.