'Criminal illegal alien': Who is the 28-year-old man shot by an ICE agent in New York City?

An Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer shot a man in the Bronx in New York City on Thursday (October 8). In a statement, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which runs the agency, confirmed the ICE agent "discharged his weapon" during "a targeted enforcement operation...to arrest a criminal illegal alien". The department added that the man was alive and admitted to a local hospital.

What is known about the man

The 28-year-old man, who has not been named by the authorities, was from the Dominican Republic, the DHS said. It added that he had "a prior criminal conviction for grand larceny, and multiple prior arrests for assault, robbery, possession of drugs, and weapons possession."


The department further claimed that he was associated with the Trinitarios, which the US justice department describes as a transnational criminal group. A 5-year-old child was sitting in the back of the car when the shooting occurred and was not wounded, CNN reported citing a law enforcement source.

Mayor Mamdani issues statement

New York City mayor Zohran Mamdani said that it was an "unconscionable and incredibly serious situation." He added: "Early reports indicate agents surrounded him and a five-year-old child in his car before firing multiple rounds. We believe the child was physically unharmed."

Mamdani also said he would ask President Donald Trump to end ICE operations in the city. "I will not stand by while ICE agents terrorise our communities," the Democrat wrote in a post on X.

NY Governor speaks to Trump

New York Governor Kathy Hochul said in a statement that residents were "outraged". "New Yorkers have witnessed far too many acts of violence by a rogue federal agency and untrained agents that operate with impunity,” she said, adding: "Federal authorities need to provide answers, and they must do so immediately.”

Late on Thursday, Hochul said she had spoken to Trump about the shooting. "I also asked that any body camera footage of the shooting be released to the public so we can establish the facts and get to the truth." Trump has not yet commented on the incident in public.

First ICE shooting in NYC

A group of demonstrators gathered at the scene on Thursday evening, chanting "We want justice" and "ICE off our streets now".

The shooting comes the same week as ICE told agents to increase the number of daily arrests by 1,000, according to CNN. Thursday's incident marked the first shooting involving ICE agents in New York City since Trump launched an immigration crackdown after returning to office in January last year.