I Am Angry Tonight. Because Today ICE Shot a New Yorker
"I am angry tonight. Because today ICE shot a New Yorker. They shot a New Yorker while his five year old child was in the car. ICE makes this city less safe. We want them out. Now."
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani posted those words on X after a federal immigration stop turned into a shooting on Thursday, October 8, in Marble Hill, the small neighborhood at the northern tip of Manhattan that sits on the Bronx side of the Harlem River.
Here is what officials have confirmed. At about 4 p.m., an ICE officer fired into a vehicle during an enforcement operation. The driver, Oscar Belgal, 28, a national of the Dominican Republic, was struck and suffered a superficial wound to the neck. NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said his 5-year-old child, who was in the car, was not injured and is in the care of relatives.
Almost everything else is disputed. ICE says officers boxed the car in with their vehicles and ordered Belgal out. The agency says he refused, drove into two government vehicles and then accelerated toward officers, and that the officer fired to stop him. Mamdani's first statement said early reports indicated agents surrounded the man and the child before firing multiple rounds. "There is no explanation for federal officers firing this many rounds into a car that has a 5-year-old in the car," the mayor said later.
New: Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin answered the mayor directly on Friday. He said the officers feared for their lives, that they did not know a child was in the vehicle, and that Mamdani's language was dangerous. He accused the mayor of engaging in political theater while officers face real threats on the street.
Some key questions are still open. Authorities have not said publicly how many shots were fired, why the officer opened fire, or whether Belgal posed an immediate threat at that moment. Video from the scene has circulated online but has not been officially released. A federal judge has ordered that Belgal remain in the United States while his case proceeds.
The political stakes are high. Mamdani ran on a promise to keep federal immigration agents out of city business, and in July he told Rolling Stone that ICE "should be abolished." He now says he will formally ask President Trump to end all ICE enforcement actions inside New York City. The administration has shown no sign of agreeing and has repeatedly threatened to cut federal funding to sanctuary cities.
Protests began within hours. Crowds gathered in Upper Manhattan and the Bronx Thursday night and again on Friday, and police reported several clashes with demonstrators.
For supporters of the mayor, the image of a child in a car under fire is the whole story. For supporters of ICE, the story is a driver who refused orders and drove at officers. The investigation will decide which version holds up.
Should ICE pull out of New York City? YES OR NO?
