Man shot during apparent ICE operation in NYC, Gov. Hochul demands explanation

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A man has been shot, apparently by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents during an operation in New York City, prompting Gov. Kathy Hochul to demand an explanation.

The shooting occurred at around 4 p.m. ET on Thursday in the Marble Hill neighborhood of the Bronx, the New York City Police Department wrote on X.

The NYPD said the shooting involved “federal law enforcement agents,” but didn’t specify which agency the officers were working under.

A city official told local outlet WABC that multiple shots were fired during what was believed to be an ICE operation. The official said the man was in a car when he was shot and a boy, believed to be 5 years old, was in the back seat unharmed.

“The NYPD was not involved in the incident and was not on scene at the time of the shooting,” the department said. “The individual who was shot is at a nearby hospital and is currently conscious and receiving medical attention.”

One woman who witnessed the shooting said she initially thought the four shots she heard were a car backfiring.

She then thought, “‘No, that’s definitely gunshots.’ So I ran to my window and all of a sudden I saw cops running – not walking — down the street, and followed shortly thereafter by more cops, and then more cops and ICE agents.

“Everybody was running. A lot of the ICE agents were, of course, masked,” the woman told WABC. “I think it’s horrifying.”

“It was really quick,” another witness told the outlet. “It was boom, boom, boom, boom, boom.” He said that others told him ICE was responsible for the shooting.

The Independent has reached out to the Department of Homeland Security and ICE for comment.

Hochul has demanded federal authorities explain what happened.

“I’ve been briefed on this afternoon’s shooting involving federal law enforcement agents in the Bronx,” Hochul wrote on X. “We expect federal authorities to provide a full and transparent accounting of the circumstances surrounding this incident.

“New Yorkers deserve to know exactly what happened and why.”

President Donald Trump’s massive deportation campaign has been criticized as too aggressive, with multiple shootings involving federal immigration agents making headlines.

In July, the Trump administration received fierce pushback after ICE agents fatally shot a 52-year-old Mexican man, Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, in Houston and a 25-year-old Colombian native, Joan Sebastian Guerrero, in Maine at traffic stops less than a week apart.

DHS said an ICE officer fired his weapon at Guerrero because he feared for “public safety,” and Salgado Araujo was shot in “self-defense.”

About half of Americans, 49 percent, believe Trump’s mass deportations targeting illegal immigrants have been too aggressive, according to a Poliitco/Public First poll released in August.

Meanwhile, 30 percent of respondents said his immigration crackdown has been about right, 11 percent said it hasn’t been aggressive enough, and 10 percent were unsure.

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