New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Gov. Kathy Hochul are demanding answers after an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer shot a man during an enforcement operation Thursday in the Marble Hill neighborhood.
The man was hospitalized after the shooting. Mamdani and Hochul said initial reports indicated a 5-year-old child was inside the vehicle at the time of the encounter but did not appear to be injured.
What happened in Marble Hill?
The Department of Homeland Security said ICE officers were conducting a targeted enforcement operation around 4 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 8 when an officer discharged a weapon, injuring a man the agency identified as being from the Dominican Republic.
DHS said officers were attempting to arrest the man, whom the agency described as having
a prior grand larceny conviction and previous arrests on allegations including assault, robbery, drug possession and weapons possession.
The agency said ICE officers immediately rendered aid and that the man was alive at a local hospital.
Mamdani said early reports indicated agents surrounded the man and the child in his car before firing multiple rounds into the vehicle. The mayor said the child was believed to be physically unharmed.
New York City police officers did not participate in the federal operation, according to the New York Police Department.
Marble Hill is part of Manhattan, though the neighborhood sits on the mainland alongside the Bronx.
On October 8, at approximately 4:00 PM ET, ICE officers were conducting a targeted enforcement operation in the Bronx, New York, to arrest a criminal illegal alien from the Dominican Republic with a prior criminal conviction for grand larceny, and multiple prior arrests for…
— Homeland Security (@DHSgov) October 8, 2026
Mamdani condemns shooting
In an official statement on the ICE shooting, Mamdani called the incident “an unconscionable and incredibly serious situation.”
Mamdani said he had called President Donald Trump and would demand an end to ICE enforcement actions in New York City when they spoke.
“Our thoughts are with the injured New Yorker and his family tonight,” Mamdani said. “We are praying for his recovery.”
I am angry tonight.
— Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani (@NYCMayor) October 9, 2026
Because today ICE shot a New Yorker. They shot a New Yorker while his five year old child was in the car.
ICE makes this city less safe.
We want them out. Now. pic.twitter.com/ZizKB0OP7S
Hochul demands answers
In her official statement on the Marble Hill shooting, Hochul said initial reports indicated ICE agents fired into a vehicle with a 5-year-old child inside.
“There is still much we don’t know about what happened in Marble Hill,” Hochul said. “Federal authorities need to provide answers, and they must do so immediately.”
Hochul said the child "appeared to have escaped without physical injury" and described the incident as terrifying for the child and immigrant communities.
"No child should ever have to experience the terror of gunfire, let alone wonder if they’ll make it home alive," Hochul said.
New York Senators react
New York's senators also spoke out regarding Thursday's shooting.
U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumercalled the incident "deeply disturbing" especially since it appeared a child was inside the vehicle when shots were fired into it. "I’m relieved the man is receiving medical care and the child was unharmed. But enough is enough."
"New Yorkers deserve the full truth about what happened," Schumer said and requested DHS release body camera footage of the encounter and for an independent investigation to take place. "When excessive force is used, there must be accountability. No one is above the law."
U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand also called for a thorough and transparent investigation on what led to the encounter.
"My thoughts are with the Marble Hill community as we await more information about the shooting involving ICE agents," she said. "It is critical that all the facts are brought to light, and I expect a thorough and transparent review of exactly what transpired."
The shooting of a New Yorker by ICE agents today is deeply disturbing, especially amid reports that a child was in the car when shots were fired. I’m relieved the man is receiving medical care and the child was unharmed. But enough is enough.
— Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) October 9, 2026
New Yorkers deserve the full truth…
DHS defends operation
DHS alleged that the man had ties to the Trinitarios gang. The agency also argued that New York's sanctuary policies force immigration officers to make arrests in the community rather than in local jails, creating what it described as unpredictable and dangerous conditions.
Contributing: USA Today Network
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: ICE shooting in New York: Mamdani, Hochul demand answers
