UPDATED October 9, 2026, approximately 4:30 a.m. Eastern.
NEW YORK — A federal immigration officer shot and wounded Oscar Belgal, 28, during an enforcement operation in New York City’s Marble Hill neighborhood Thursday afternoon. A five-year-old boy inside Belgal’s vehicle was not injured, city officials said. The shooting has prompted protests and calls for an independent account of what happened.
New York Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said officers approached Belgal’s vehicle shortly after 4 p.m. near West 225th Street and Marble Hill Avenue. According to her preliminary description of surveillance video, one plainclothes federal officer approached the driver’s window with a gun drawn while another approached the front of the vehicle. The vehicle then moved out of camera view; the surveillance footage did not show the shooting itself.
Investigators recovered evidence indicating that at least one federal officer fired seven rounds, Tisch said. Belgal was struck in the neck below his left ear and taken to NewYork-Presbyterian Allen Hospital in stable condition. City police said they did not participate in the federal operation or the shooting. The child was later confirmed safe with a relative.
Disputed account of the operation. The Department of Homeland Security described the incident as a targeted immigration enforcement operation and said agents were seeking to arrest a Dominican national with a prior conviction. DHS alleged that Belgal attempted to ram officers’ vehicles; that account has not been independently established. Separately, CBS New York reported that two law-enforcement sources said preliminary information suggested the person shot may not have been the intended arrest target. These conflicting accounts have not been resolved publicly. Surveillance footage described by Tisch did not capture the moment shots were fired.
Tisch identified Belgal and described a 2023 arrest that resulted in a grand larceny conviction and a separate 2025 drug-related case that remains pending. DHS also made allegations about gang associations; Zark News has not independently verified those allegations.
Political response and protests. Mayor Zohran Mamdani condemned the shooting and said he spoke with President Donald Trump and Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin while seeking Belgal’s release and an end to immigration enforcement operations in the city. The mayor said his request for release was unsuccessful. Protesters gathered near the hospital Thursday night. Gov. Kathy Hochul called for transparency and release of body-camera footage.
What remains unclear: Whether Belgal was the intended target, the precise sequence immediately before the gunfire, whether agents’ use of force was justified, and whether complete body-camera or other video will be released. No final investigative determination has been established in the cited reporting.
Editorial note: This report consolidates Zark News coverage originally published October 8 and subsequently updated October 9. Allegations from federal officials and preliminary information from local law enforcement are attributed separately. No unlicensed incident imagery is reproduced.
Sources: Associated Press, October 8; Reuters, October 8; CBS New York, updated October 9; amNewYork, October 9.
