ICE officer shoots man during Marble Hill arrest attempt; boy, 5, unhurt

A man was shot and wounded by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer around 4 p.m. Thursday in Marble Hill, at the corner of Marble Hill Avenue and West 225th Street, as federal agents tried to arrest him, according to federal and city officials. Officials said a boy of about 5 was sitting in the back seat of the man’s vehicle and escaped physical injury.

According to the NYPD, the wounded man was conscious and getting medical care at a hospital close to the scene. City police stressed that no NYPD officers took part in the shooting, and none were present when shots were fired.

What DHS says about the Marble Hill ICE shooting

ICE was conducting a targeted operation to take a man from the Dominican Republic into custody, the Department of Homeland Security said. The agency said he had a grand larceny conviction and several earlier arrests for assault, robbery, drug possession and weapons possession, and it alleged he had ties to the Trinitarios gang. DHS also said the NYPD arrested him on Dec. 7, 2023, and released him a few days later. It did not give the status of those earlier cases.

DHS said an ICE officer fired his weapon, after which officers gave the man first aid. FBI and Homeland Security Investigations agents were at the scene, the agency said. DHS did not explain what prompted the officer to shoot, and the incident remains under investigation.

When the gunfire started, people on the street ducked into nearby businesses, witnesses said. City Council Member Pierina Sanchez said she had been told that agents shot through the front glass of the car and that up to seven gunshots rang out. Those accounts could not be confirmed.

Mamdani, Hochul and Espaillat respond

Mayor Zohran Mamdani called the shooting “an unconscionable and incredibly serious situation.” He said he had called the president and, once they talk, will demand an end to all ICE enforcement in the city. Gov. Kathy Hochul said she had been briefed and wanted federal authorities to explain the circumstances fully and openly.

Speaking to protesters at the scene Thursday night, Rep. Adriano Espaillat said the child was safe with family members and that ICE agents had blocked him from talking with the wounded man at the hospital. By then, a crowd of demonstrators had formed, and police tape sealed off the block.

Neighborhood leaders had already raised concerns about federal agents in the area. Three days earlier, in an Oct. 5 letter, Sanchez, Espaillat and six other officials representing parts of the Bronx and Upper Manhattan asked the property firm Kingsbridge Associates and Target to stop ICE from staging in the parking lot at 40 W. 225th St. Any link between that activity and Thursday’s shooting has not been established.