New York, Oct (dpa/GNA) – An agent from the US immigration authority ICE, shot and injured a man during an operation in New York on Friday.
“The individual is alive and at a local hospital,” the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) wrote on X.
The “criminal illegal alien” with multiple prior arrests and one conviction to his name, had been targeted for arrest during the operation, the post added.
The department later defended the operation by ICE, which falls under its supervision. The agents believed that their lives, the lives of their operational partners, and the public were in danger, and therefore fired shots, said Marcos Charles, deputy head of the ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) division.
The man was “superficially” struck in the neck by a bullet or shrapnel, Charles said. New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani said, according to initial reports, law enforcement forces had surrounded the man’s car, inside which was also a five-year-old child. Multiple shots were then fired.
Based on current information, the child remained physically unharmed. According to Charles, the agents were unaware of the child’s presence.
The incident occurred in the afternoon (local time) in the neighbourhood of Marble Hill, a residential area located near Manhattan Island on the mainland part of the city.
The DHS said the man was from the Dominican Republic, and has a criminal record for grand larceny, with previous arrests for assault, robbery and drug and weapon possession. He was also said to be affiliated to the Trinitarios gang, which is known for armed thefts involving mopeds.
According to Charles, the ICE agents were attempting to execute an arrest warrant, after the man had already evaded arrest back in September.
The man had been arrested by the New York Police Department in December 2023, but was released due to “reckless Democrat sanctuary policies,” the department wrote.
Mamdani called the situation “unconscionable and incredibly serious” and said he would demand that US President Donald Trump halt all ICE operations in the city. “
I will not stand by while ICE agents terrorize our communities,” the mayor said in a statement ending with the words “Abolish ICE.”
The Democratic Governor of New York State, Kathy Hochul, also said she called on Trump and DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin to stop the agency’s operations in New York.
Hochul demanded that all body camera footage from the involved law enforcement officers be released to the public.
Meanwhile, Mullin blamed the 28-year-old man for endangering the child. Unlike the agents, the man knew the child was in the car, yet he accelerated sharply and rammed two vehicles.
He also apparently drove toward agents during this action. Public outrage should therefore be directed at the suspect, Mullin said. According to him, Trump offered to transfer the man into the custody of the New York Police Department, provided they pursue criminal charges against him. Mamdani reportedly rejected this.
Mullin additionally dismissed demands for a temporary suspension of his agency’s operations. Federal agents “will not stop doing their job” of enforcing immigration laws, he said.
GNA