Person shot during encounter with ICE agents in New York City, source says

Man Wounded During ICE Operation in Bronx; Child in Vehicle Escapes Injury

Earthguardiansonline.com – A 28-year-old man was hospitalized after federal immigration agents fired into his vehicle during an enforcement operation in the Bronx on Thursday afternoon. A 5-year-old child seated in the rear of the vehicle was not hurt.

The shooting occurred shortly after 4 p.m. in Marble Hill, the neighborhood at Manhattan’s northern edge. New York City police said their officers were not involved in the confrontation, though the department later deployed personnel for crowd management and evidence collection.

The man suffered a neck graze wound that was not considered life-threatening. Police took him to a hospital in a patrol vehicle rather than waiting for an ambulance.

Federal Operation Ends in Gunfire

Agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations unit were conducting what the Department of Homeland Security described as a targeted arrest operation. The agency said the intended subject was an undocumented immigrant from the Dominican Republic with previous arrests and criminal convictions.

DHS said a federal agent discharged a weapon during the encounter, leaving the man injured. The department said agents rendered aid immediately after the shooting, but it did not provide details about the circumstances that prompted the use of force.

“He has associations to the Trinitarios gang,” DHS said in a statement.

The injured man’s record includes a 2023 robbery arrest. He later pleaded guilty to a reduced grand larceny charge and received five years of probation. He also faces a pending indictment involving the sale of a controlled substance.

ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations branch is responsible for immigration arrests and removals. Its operations can bring federal agents into close contact with local communities, particularly when arrests take place in public spaces or residential areas.

Witness Accounts and Video From the Scene

People at the scene told police they heard between five and six gunshots and saw people running and screaming. Witnesses also described a man in a bright yellow construction vest carrying a firearm.

Video said to have been recorded at the location appears to show a man matching that description. In the footage, he is carrying a semi-automatic rifle and appears to have an ICE badge hanging around his neck.

Two federal agents also sustained injuries during the incident and were receiving treatment at a local hospital. One agent may have been hurt in a vehicle collision, though officials had not established whether that crash was directly connected to the attempted arrest or the subsequent response.

Homeland Security Investigations took over the shooting investigation. HSI, another DHS component, commonly handles federal criminal investigations and has responded to similar incidents involving immigration agents. Its involvement separates the investigation of the shooting from the city police department’s role in securing the area.

After the gunfire, officers and federal personnel worked behind yellow police tape while protesters began arriving nearby. The scene reflected the heightened tensions that can follow immigration enforcement actions in New York City, where local leaders have frequently challenged expanded federal immigration activity.

City and State Leaders Seek Answers

Mayor Zohran Mamdani said he had attempted to contact President Donald Trump and intended to press for an end to ICE enforcement actions in New York City. A spokesperson for the mayor said Thursday evening that Mamdani and Trump had not yet spoken.

“Our thoughts are with the injured New Yorker and his family tonight. We are praying for his recovery,” Mamdani said. “Get ICE out of our neighborhoods.”

Gov. Kathy Hochul said she had been briefed on the shooting and called for federal authorities to explain the event fully.

“We expect federal authorities to provide a full and transparent accounting of the circumstances surrounding this incident,” she said in a statement. “New Yorkers deserve to know exactly what happened and why.”

The incident came less than three weeks after a September 20 shooting involving ICE agents in Austin, Texas, in which a Venezuelan man was wounded. Federal authorities used a similar investigative approach in that case, with Homeland Security Investigations handling the shooting inquiry.

Questions Remain in Ongoing Investigation

Key details surrounding the Bronx encounter had not been publicly explained by Thursday night, including what happened immediately before the agent fired, whether the vehicle was moving at the time, and how the injuries to the two agents occurred.

The presence of a young child in the vehicle is likely to be a central focus as investigators reconstruct the sequence of events. The child was physically unharmed, but the situation underscores the risks created when firearms are used during an arrest operation involving vehicles and bystanders.

Officials have not said whether any charges connected specifically to Thursday’s confrontation are expected. The federal investigation will be responsible for reviewing witness accounts, video footage, physical evidence and the actions of the agents involved.

For residents of Marble Hill and nearby neighborhoods, the event brought a large police and federal presence to an area just north of Manhattan. As the investigation continues, city and state leaders are demanding a clearer public account of why the operation escalated into gunfire.