Man Shot by ICE in NYC Was 'Threat to Community', Officials Say
White House claims the individual used his vehicle as a weapon before an ICE officer discharged their firearm.
An individual shot by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer in New York City on Thursday had "weaponized his vehicle" before the incident, according to the White House. U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin stated Friday that the 28-year-old Dominican man, identified as Oscar Belgal, was in the United States illegally and considered "a threat to our community."
Mullin also indicated that Belgal had previously "fled" law enforcement in September to avoid detention. Marcos Charles, a senior ICE official, added that Belgal "accelerated his vehicle" toward agents in the Marble Hill neighborhood of the Bronx before agents opened fire. Belgal survived the shooting with a neck wound and received hospital treatment.
The Department of Homeland Security had been seeking to arrest Belgal as part of a targeted enforcement operation. The department has not yet provided specific details about the events that led to the shooting, only confirming that an ICE officer discharged a weapon during the encounter, resulting in the man's injury. Belgal was reportedly in a vehicle with his five-year-old son at the time of the shooting.