An Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent shot and wounded 28-year-old Oscar Belgal in the Marble Hill neighborhood of Upper Manhattan on Thursday afternoon, October 8, 2026. The shooting happened around 4 p.m. while Belgal was inside a vehicle with a 5-year-old child in the back seat.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which oversees ICE, said the shooting occurred during a "targeted enforcement operation" to arrest a "criminal illegal alien" from the Dominican Republic with a prior grand larceny conviction and multiple prior arrests. DHS also alleged associations with the Trinitarios gang.
NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said evidence collected from the scene indicates at least one ICE agent fired seven rounds, striking Belgal in the neck below his left ear. She said Belgal arrived at the hospital in stable condition. One senior law enforcement official put the number of shots at "at least five," and the discrepancy between the accounts has not been publicly resolved.
The child was physically unharmed and later placed in the care of a family member, Tisch said.
What the camera footage shows — and does not show
Tisch said NYPD surveillance cameras captured the moments leading up to the shooting. The footage shows Belgal backing into a parking spot before a plainclothes federal officer approaches the driver's side door with a gun drawn, followed by a second plainclothes officer. The vehicle then begins to move forward and leaves the camera's view.
The cameras did not capture the shooting itself, Tisch said.
DHS has not described what led the officer to fire, saying only that "during the incident, an ICE officer discharged his weapon" and that the incident remains under investigation. The agency has not said whether the officer knew a child was in the vehicle.
Belgal's record, according to officials
Tisch said Belgal has two prior arrests in New York City: a 2023 robbery arrest in which he pleaded guilty to grand larceny, and a 2025 arrest for criminal sale of a controlled substance, which remains pending.
DHS said Belgal was arrested by the NYPD on December 7, 2023, and released a few days later. The agency blamed "reckless Democrat sanctuary policies" for his release, arguing such policies force officers to make arrests "in unpredictable and dangerous environments." There is no single legal definition of a sanctuary jurisdiction; the term generally refers to state and local governments that limit cooperation with federal immigration authorities.
Mayor calls shooting an "outrage" and demands ICE be abolished
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani condemned the shooting as "an outrage" at a late-night news conference on Thursday.
"School had just gotten out. The street was crowded with families and children," Mamdani said. "When the ICE agent opened fire, a 5-year-old child was in the back seat of the car."
Mamdani said he spent two hours on the phone with President Donald Trump and DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin seeking to negotiate Belgal's release. Those negotiations were unsuccessful, the mayor said.
"ICE undermines public safety. It makes us less safe," Mamdani said. "This is an agency that must be abolished."
New York Governor Kathy Hochul said she had also spoken with Trump and Mullin, expressing "outrage on behalf of New Yorkers" and urging them to halt ICE enforcement operations in the state. She 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."
Belgal removed from the hospital
Belgal was hospitalized in stable condition following the shooting. Late Thursday night, federal authorities removed him from the hospital. Mamdani said ICE agents put Belgal in an unmarked vehicle and took him away. His current location has not been disclosed.
The shooting prompted protests in Marble Hill and later outside the hospital where Belgal was being treated. Reports vary on the number of people arrested: ABC7 New York reported four arrests on charges of obstructing governmental administration, while NBC New York reported five people were taken into custody.
What is confirmed, what is unknown, and what is awaited
Confirmed: An ICE agent shot Oscar Belgal, 28, in the neck during a targeted enforcement operation in Marble Hill at approximately 4 p.m. on Thursday, October 8, 2026. At least one agent fired seven rounds, according to NYPD evidence. A 5-year-old child in the vehicle was physically unharmed and placed with a family member. Mayor Mamdani and Governor Hochul have condemned the shooting and called for the release of body camera footage.
Unknown: Why the officer opened fire; whether the officer knew a child was in the car; the precise sequence of events after the vehicle left the camera's view; the exact number of shots fired; the number of protesters arrested; and where Belgal is now being held.
Awaited: The results of the ongoing federal investigation, any release of body camera or additional footage, and further statements from DHS or ICE on the circumstances of the shooting.
Sources: ABC7 New York, ABC News, NBC New York, The New York Times, The Guardian, BBC, WCAX.