New NYPD surveillance video has emerged showing federal agents, including one in a construction vest, approaching a car in the Bronx shortly before an ICE agent shot a 28-year-old man, Oscar Belgal, in the neck. Belgal, a Dominican Republic national, was in the vehicle with a 5-year-old boy believed to be his son.
The Department of Homeland Security stated that ICE agents were conducting a targeted enforcement operation aimed at arresting Belgal, described as a “criminal illegal alien.” Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin indicated that the agents were unaware of the child’s presence in the car. He explained that Belgal attempted to flee by accelerating rapidly and ramming two vehicles, allegedly driving toward the officers.
Mullin reported that an ICE agent, feeling threatened, opened fire, striking Belgal in the neck. NYPD body-camera footage subsequently shows officers arriving and transporting Belgal to the hospital.
Federal officials noted that Belgal had previously fled from ICE and had two prior New York City arrests related to robbery and the sale of a controlled substance. They also mentioned his alleged connections to the Trinitarios gang, linked to a previous shooting of a Customs and Border Protection officer.
Following the incident, protests erupted in Manhattan’s Foley Square and Marble Hill, with demonstrators calling for an end to ICE operations. Governor Kathy Hochul has voiced a desire for immigration enforcement to cease while federal officials maintain that they will continue to target undocumented immigrants identified as criminal offenders. Additionally, Hochul and Mullin discussed a potential arrangement for state cooperation with federal law enforcement on future operations, though specifics remain unclear.
