A US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent shot a man in the Bronx, New York City, on Thursday during what the Department of Homeland Security described as a targeted enforcement operation.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which oversees ICE, confirmed that an officer discharged a firearm while attempting to arrest a man it described as a “criminal illegal alien.” The man survived the shooting and was taken to a local hospital, according to the department. Officials have not publicly identified him.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani described the incident as an “unconscionable and incredibly serious situation.”Mamdani said preliminary reports indicated that agents had surrounded the man and a five-year-old child inside a vehicle before firing multiple rounds. He added that the child was believed to be physically unharmed.
The BBC said it had contacted DHS for a response to the mayor’s account. New York Governor Kathy Hochul said late Thursday that she had spoken with President Donald Trump about the shooting and expressed outrage on behalf of state residents. Hochul also called for the release of any body-camera footage recorded during the incident, saying the public needed access to the evidence to establish what happened.
Trump had not publicly commented on the shooting at the time of reporting.
DHS Cites Man’s Criminal History
In its statement, DHS identified the man as a Dominican Republic national and cited a previous criminal conviction for grand larceny, alongside earlier arrests for assault, robbery, drug possession and weapons possession.
The department said New York police arrested him in December 2023 but released him a few days later. DHS also alleged that he was associated with the Trinitarios, a group the US Justice Department describes as a transnational criminal organisation. The department has not publicly provided further details about the circumstances leading to Thursday’s shooting.
FBI officers were seen examining a vehicle at the scene later that evening. Mamdani said he would ask Trump to end ICE enforcement operations in New York City, criticising the agency’s presence in local communities.
“I will not stand by while ICE agents terrorise our communities,” he wrote on X.
New York City is among several Democratic-led jurisdictions that restrict local police cooperation with federal immigration enforcement. The shooting drew protesters to the scene on Thursday evening, where demonstrators chanted for justice and demanded that ICE leave their streets.
The incident adds to scrutiny of encounters involving federal immigration officers. Several high-profile shootings involving ICE officers have occurred this year, including the January shooting of Renee Good in Minneapolis, which resulted in her death.
