New York [US] October 9 (ANI): A US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer shot and injured a man during a targeted enforcement operation in the Bronx, New York, on Thursday (local time), with federal authorities confirming that the individual was taken to a local hospital as the incident remains under investigation.
According to posts by ICE and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on X on Thursday (local time), the incident occurred at approximately 4 pm ET on October 8, when ICE officers were conducting an operation to arrest a Dominican Republic national with a prior criminal conviction for grand larceny and multiple previous arrests.
https://x.com/ICEgov/status/2108354916540408273
ICE said the individual had also been arrested by the New York Police Department (NYPD) on December 7, 2023, but was released a few days later. The agency alleged that he had associations with the Trinitarios gang, which it linked to the shooting of a US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officer last year.
“During the incident, an ICE officer discharged his weapon and the criminal illegal alien was injured,” ICE said in its post, adding that officers “immediately rendered aid.”
“The individual is alive and at a local hospital. The FBI and HSI are on the scene. The incident remains under investigation. More information will be shared as it becomes available,” the agency added.
ICE also criticised sanctuary policies, alleging that the release of individuals it considers dangerous makes enforcement operations more unpredictable and puts officers and the public at risk.
“When dangerous illegal aliens are released back onto the streets by radical sanctuary politicians, our officers are forced to make arrests at large in the community in unpredictable and dangerous environments,” the agency said.
“Our officers should not have to risk their lives, and innocent Americans should not have to face unnecessary danger, because sanctuary politicians refuse to cooperate with federal law enforcement,” it added.
New York City Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani, however, raised concerns over the circumstances of the shooting, saying that early reports indicated the man and a five-year-old child were in a car when ICE agents surrounded them and fired multiple rounds.
In a post on X on Thursday (local time), Mamdani said, “This afternoon in Marble Hill, a New Yorker was shot by an ICE agent in a residential neighborhood. Early reports indicate agents surrounded him and a 5-year-old child in his car before firing multiple rounds. We believe the child was physically unharmed.”
https://x.com/NYCMayor/status/2108332127318073528
Calling the incident “an unconscionable and incredibly serious situation”, Mamdani said he had called US President Donald Trump and would demand that the administration end ICE enforcement actions in the city when they spoke.
“I will not stand by while ICE agents terrorize our communities,” he said.
“Our thoughts are with the injured New Yorker and his family tonight. We are praying for his recovery,” the mayor added.
Urging an end to ICE operations in the city, Mamdani said, “Get ICE out of our neighborhoods. Get ICE out of our hospitals. Get ICE off our streets. Get ICE away from our children.”
He concluded his post with the words, “Abolish ICE.”
A CBS News analysis found that there have been at least 30 shootings involving Department of Homeland Security officers during the second Trump administration, some of which have been fatal.
The incident comes amid the Trump administration’s continued emphasis on immigration enforcement.
In an earlier post on Thursday (local time), DHS said, “If you are in this country illegally, we will find, arrest, and remove you from our nation. There will be no sanctuary for illegal aliens. Yesterday, the brave patriots of @ICEgov arrested illegal alien murderers, sexual predators, and kidnappers from our communities.”
https://x.com/DHSgov/status/2108304061321671149
The department also listed individuals it said had been arrested, including Ian Clive Burton, from Jamaica, who was convicted of murder, assault on a law enforcement officer, resisting arrest and firearm possession in Monmouth County, New Jersey.
DHS also named Angel Ramirez-Castillo, from Cuba, who was convicted of attempted murder and aggravated assault in Miami, Florida; Cesar Funes-Oliva, from El Salvador, who was convicted of statutory rape and larceny in Gwinnett County, Georgia; Irvin Roblero-Ortiz, from Guatemala, who was convicted of abduction and strangulation in Accomack, Virginia; and Josue Fuentes-Argueta, from El Salvador, whom the department linked to a conviction for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute in the Northern District of Texas. (ANI)
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