What We Know So Far About Oscar Belgal the Dominican Man Shot by an ICE Agent While a Five-Year-Old Was in His Car

What We Know So Far About Oscar Belgal the Dominican Man Shot by an ICE Agent While a Five-Year-Old Was in His Car

An ICE agent shot a 28-year-old Dominican man in the neck during an arrest operation in the Marble Hill neighborhood of Manhattan on Thursday afternoon while a five-year-old child sat in the car with him. The man, identified by New York City police as Oscar Belgal, was shot seven times by plainclothes federal immigration agents as he attempted to move his vehicle, with a bullet striking him beneath his left ear. He survived and was taken to a hospital, where federal authorities later removed him before his family or legal representation could reach him. The child in the car was unharmed and placed with a family member.

New York City Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said at a press conference Thursday evening that Belgal was in the process of parking when a plainclothes agent approached with his weapon drawn, followed by a second agent also not in uniform. Belgal moved the vehicle forward and at least one agent fired seven times. The NYPD was not part of the operation but responded after hearing the shots.

What the Federal Government Said and What the Neighborhood Saw

The Department of Homeland Security described the operation as a targeted arrest of what it called an illegal alien with a criminal conviction for grand larceny and a history of prior detentions, saying only that during the incident an ICE agent discharged their weapon. Tisch confirmed that Belgal had a prior grand larceny conviction for which he received probation and a pending drug sale charge in which he has pleaded not guilty.

Witnesses described a chaotic scene. A nearby restaurant employee said he heard multiple shots and came outside to find a man on the ground surrounded by masked agents in Department of Homeland Security vests. Videos posted by bystanders showed Belgal sitting on the ground with his hands behind his back, with a damaged car nearby and bullet holes visible in two of its windows. Alfred Silva, a 38-year-old Marble Hill resident, said that more transparency was needed about who was conducting these operations, noting that one of the agents was wearing a construction safety vest and that anyone on the street could put on a vest, produce a weapon and claim to be from ICE.

Mayor Zohran Mamdani appeared at the scene Thursday evening and called the shooting an outrage, saying there was no justification for what occurred and noting that the agents were wearing work vests and masks that made identification difficult. He said he spent two hours pressing federal officials to release Belgal and to end immigration enforcement operations in the city, without success. Governor Kathy Hochul said she communicated the same message to federal officials by phone, and Council Member Carmen De La Rosa, who emigrated from the Dominican Republic and represents the Marble Hill area, described the community as heartbroken and furious.

The Protests That Followed and the Broader Context

Protesters gathered at the scene and marched to the hospital where Belgal had been taken, with a large crowd blocking the entrance. When police placed barricades to allow emergency vehicles through, some protesters pushed back and threw water bottles at officers, leading to arrests. The DHS said in a statement that its agents are forced to make arrests in unpredictable and dangerous environments when jurisdictions with sanctuary city policies limit cooperation with federal immigration authorities.

ICE agents have discharged their weapons during vehicle stops on over a dozen occasions since last year, killing at least four people and injuring several others. The agency issued guidance at the end of September instructing agents to refrain from high-speed vehicle pursuits and to conduct vehicle stops only after completing specific training. Thursday’s shooting in Marble Hill, according to city officials and community members who spoke at the scene, is the latest example of why that guidance matters and why its implementation cannot come soon enough.

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