Mamdani Calls Trump After ICE Shoots Man With 5-Year-Old in Car
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani called President Donald Trump on Thursday after an ICE agent shot a man in the neck during an arrest attempt in Manhattan while the man's 5-year-old son sat in the back seat.
Mamdani said he demanded that Immigration and Customs Enforcement end all enforcement actions in the city. "There is no explanation" for federal officers firing that many rounds into a car with a child inside, he said at a press conference.
What Happened in Marble Hill
The shooting happened around 4 p.m. Thursday in Marble Hill, a residential neighborhood in northern Manhattan. ICE agents were trying to detain 28-year-old Oscar Belgal, who was in a vehicle with his young son, ABC7 New York reported.
NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said police cameras captured a federal officer and a plainclothes officer approaching the driver's side window. The vehicle then moved forward and out of the camera's view. Investigators determined that at least one ICE agent fired seven rounds.
Belgal was struck in the neck and taken to a hospital, where officials said he was conscious and in stable condition. His son was not hurt. Witnesses said ICE agents took the boy from the scene, though that account has not been confirmed.
Witnesses also said the streets were crowded at the time because a nearby school had just let out.
What DHS Says
The Department of Homeland Security said ICE was carrying out "a targeted enforcement operation." DHS said Belgal is from the Dominican Republic and has a prior grand larceny conviction, along with past arrests for assault, robbery, drug possession and weapons possession. The agency also claimed he has "associations to the Trinitarios gang."
DHS said agents were pursuing a person connected to migrants involved in a July 2025 shooting of an off-duty customs officer in Fort Washington Park. DHS has not publicly explained why the agent opened fire.
Mamdani and Hochul Push Back
Mamdani said he spoke with Trump and DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin and asked for Belgal's release, but those talks were unsuccessful. He said he told them ICE agents should leave the scene entirely and stop enforcement in New York City.
The mayor argued the operations make the city less safe and frighten residents, pointing out that the shooting happened on a residential block near a subway. He also cited Tisch's description of agents wearing construction vests and masks while carrying long guns, according to Mediaite. Mamdani later said ICE "must be abolished."
Gov. Kathy Hochul called for "full transparency" from federal authorities. She said she also spoke with Trump and Mullin, urged them to halt ICE operations in New York and asked for body camera footage to be released.
Hundreds of protesters gathered Thursday evening outside the Inwood hospital where Belgal was being treated.
Part of a Growing Pattern
The Marble Hill shooting is the latest in a string of violent encounters involving immigration agents. Since the start of Trump's second term, immigration agents have been involved in at least 43 shootings, including 11 deaths, according to figures cited by Mediaite.
Last month, an ICE shooting in Austin left a man hospitalized and sparked outrage. In Illinois, a U.S. citizen was injured after agents mistook him for a fugitive. And in Minnesota, an ICE agent was charged in connection with a shooting.
It was not immediately clear whether the agent who fired would face an investigation, or whether federal officials would release any video of the shooting as Hochul requested.
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