US immigration officials defend ICE agents who shot man in same car as child

9 October 2026, 18: 20 BST. Updated 2 minutes ago.

Key points

• New York City Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch remarked there was additionally still a pending case against Belgal for criminal sale of a controlled substance in 2025.
• Belgal was arrested by police officers in New York in December 2023 and published "a few days later", according to the DHS.
• Mamdani remarked on Thursday that he had spoken with President Donald Trump and Mullin for two hours but failed to negotiate Belgal's release.
• There have been a number of high-profile shootings involving ICE officers this year, including one that caused the death of Renee Good in Minneapolis in January.
• "We weren't aware the child was in the car, " Mullin continued at a press conference on Friday, arguing that it was the man, Oscar Belgal.

US immigration authorities have defended the actions of officers who shot and wounded a man in his car in New York on Thursday while his five-year-old son was in the back seat.

Markwayne Mullin, the head of homeland security (DHS). It runs the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), remarked officers fired their weapons while trying to arrest a man with a criminal history.

"We weren't aware the child was in the car, " Mullin continued at a press conference on Friday, arguing that it was the man, Oscar Belgal. This person had put his child in danger. Belgal is now being held at a detention facility.

Meanwhile, the legal organisation representing Belgal informed the BBC that lawyers had not yet been able to speak to him. The shooting happened in the residential neighbourhood of Marble Hill.

Marcos Charles, a top ICE official who was additionally at Friday's press conference, stated agents applied their vehicles to try and stop Belgal in his car but that he resisted orders to secure out and instead accelerated, smashing into two ICE vehicles.

Charles remarked Belgal then "weaponised his vehicle and proceeded to accelerate going towards other officers", adding: "Our officers, using their training, and believing that their life and the life of their partners in the general public were in danger, used their training and fired weapons." The number of officers who fired their weapons is being investigated.

Charles remarked Belgal "was struck by one of the bullets or fragments superficially in the neck".

New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani. This person called what happened "unconscionable and incredibly serious", remarked ICE agents surrounded Belgal's car before opening fire.

"They wore construction vests and masks that concealed their faces. There is no reasonable way to identify them as ICE agents, " Mamdani remarked. He confirmed that the child was unharmed.

Mullin remarked the officers identified themselves and were wearing body-worn cameras that were turned on during the incident.

Video of the shooting, including body camera footage, has not been created public but unverified videos on social media appear to align with Mamdani's comments.

Body-worn camera footage published by the New York Police Department (NYPD) on Friday indicates its officers arriving on scene and attempting to support Belgal after he has been shot. One ICE officer appears to be wearing a neon construction vest and carrying a sizeable gun.

In practice, the NYPD officers then call for an ambulance and putting him in a police car to take him to hospital. They are afterwards seen pulling Belgal from the vehicle and carrying him into the hospital.

Mamdani remarked he would ask Trump. This person has not yet commented publicly on the shooting, to end ICE enforcement actions in New York. Mullin has remarked he will not pause enforcement.

Meanwhile, the DHS remarked Belgal, 28, is from the Dominican Republic and had "a prior criminal conviction for grand larceny and multiple prior arrests for assault, robbery, possession of drugs and weapons possession".

DHS has additionally alleged Belgal was associated with the Trinitarios, described by the US justice department as a transnational criminal group.

Mullin remarked the DHS believes Belgal "has either indirect or direct knowledge" of a US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officer shooting, "and that's why he became a target".

Mamdani is not the only New York official to have criticised the incident. Governor Kathy Hochul remarked federal office-holders needed to provide answers rapidly concerning what happened.

"New Yorkers have witnessed far too many acts of violence by a rogue federal agency and untrained agents that operate with impunity, " Hochul remarked, adding that she had spoken with Mullin and Trump as well.

Taken together, the developments around US immigration officials defend ICE agents who shot man in same car point to a situation that is still moving, and the coming days should bring more clarity.