A United States (US) Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent shot a man in New York City’s Bronx while a five-year-old child was in the car, Mayor Zohran Mamdani has confirmed.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which oversees ICE, confirmed that an officer “discharged his weapon” during what it described as “a targeted enforcement operation” to arrest a “criminal illegal alien”.
The department stated that the man survived the shooting and was taken to a local hospital.
Mamdani called the incident an “unconscionable and incredibly serious situation” and said that the child was believed to be physically unharmed.
“Early reports indicate agents surrounded him and a five-year-old child in his car before firing multiple rounds. We believe the child was physically unharmed,” the mayor said.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul said late on Thursday that she had spoken to President of US Donald Trump about the shooting and expressed “outrage on behalf of New Yorkers”.
Hochul also asked for any bodycam footage of the incident to be released publicly so the circumstances surrounding the shooting could be established.
“I also asked that any body camera footage of the shooting be released to the public so we can establish the facts and get to the truth,” she said.
The DHS did not name the man but identified him as a Dominican Republic national. The department stated that he had a previous criminal conviction for grand larceny and multiple prior arrests for assault, robbery, drug possession and weapons possession.
According to the DHS, New York police arrested the man in December 2023 and released him a few days later.
The department also claimed that he was associated with the Trinitarios, which the US Justice Department describes as a transnational criminal group.
Mamdani said that he will ask Trump to end ICE enforcement operations in New York City.
“I will not stand by while ICE agents terrorise our communities,” the mayor wrote on X on Thursday evening.
New York, a Democratic stronghold, is among several US cities that bar local police officers from assisting federal immigration enforcement.
Following the shooting, a group of protesters gathered at the scene on Thursday evening, chanting “we want justice” and “ICE off our streets now”.
The incident follows other high-profile shootings involving ICE officers this year, including the January shooting in Minneapolis that killed Renee Good.
