Four Arrested After Protests Over Bronx ICE Shooting

Four people were arrested during demonstrations outside a New York hospital after an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent shot a 28-year-old man in Manhattan, triggering protests and criticism from elected officials over federal immigration operations. Police said the arrests involved allegations of obstructing governmental administration as demonstrators gathered around the hospital and nearby streets.

The protests intensified late Thursday as ICE agents removed the injured man, identified as Belgal, from the hospital in unmarked vehicles. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin told Eyewitness News on Friday that federal agents had transferred him to a more secure facility outside New York.

According to police, all four arrested demonstrators received court appearance tickets. Hundreds of protesters gathered outside the hospital, shouting at the departing vehicles and continuing their demonstrations into the night, prompting a substantial police response.

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani addressed the shooting at a news conference shortly before midnight, condemning the federal agency's actions and calling for its abolition.

"ICE undermines public safety. It makes us less safe," Mamdani said. "This is an agency that must be abolished."

Mamdani said he spent hours speaking by phone with President Donald Trump and Mullin in an unsuccessful effort to secure the man's release. His remarks came as city officials challenged the federal government's handling of the incident.

Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson also condemned ICE's presence in local neighborhoods, reflecting anger among residents and elected officials following the shooting.

"We want ICE the (expletive) out of our neighborhood," Gibson said.

New York City Council Member Carmen De La Rosa linked the incident to other confrontations involving federal immigration enforcement, citing concerns about the agency's activities in communities across the country.

"When ICE shows up in our communities, we know what's going to happen. It is what happened to Alex Pretti. It is what continues to happen across this nation," De La Rosa said.

Public Advocate Jumaane Williams disputed how federal authorities might portray the injured man and emphasized that he was a parent when the shooting occurred.

"They're going to try to make the gentleman they shot the worst human being you've ever heard of. But I want you to know that a father picking up his child was shot by a rogue agency controlled by Donald Trump," Williams said.

Federal authorities offered a different account of the operation. ICE said agents were targeting an undocumented man associated with the Trinitarios gang and cited his previous arrest by the New York Police Department.

"This criminal illegal alien was arrested by the NYPD on December 7, 2023, but was released into the community a few days later by reckless Democrat sanctuary policies that put American lives at risk," ICE said.

White House border czar Tom Homan defended immigration enforcement against people without legal status in the country.

"If you're in the country illegally you have a problem. You shouldn't be here," Homan said.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul called for full transparency from federal authorities. She said she had spoken with Trump and Mullin, urging them to halt ICE enforcement operations in New York and release body camera footage of the shooting to the public.

The incident also drew attention ahead of the midterm elections. Darializa Avila Chevalier, a Democratic candidate for New York's 13th Congressional District, called for the agency's abolition at the federal level.

"We are going to abolish ICE, and we're going to take that to the federal level and do it in Congress," Avila Chevalier said.