Illegal Immigrant Drove Toward Officers Before NYC Shooting, ICE Says

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) released new details Friday about the shooting of an illegal immigrant with a rap sheet who had long been on the run.

ICE officers were making their second attempt to arrest 28-year-old Oscar Belgal, who had fled from them in September, when they shot him Thursday afternoon in New York City, agency officials said during a press conference on Friday.

Belgal, who had a 5-year-old child in the car, refused orders to exit after officers boxed him in, then accelerated and struck two ICE vehicles, said Marcos Charles, executive associate director of ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO).

He then “weaponized his vehicle and proceeded to accelerate, going towards other officers,” leading officers to open fire, Charles said.

“Our officers, using their training and believing that their life and the life of the general public was in danger, used their training and fired weapons,” Charles said.

“One of the bullets or fragments” struck Belgal “superficially” in the neck, Charles said. The Dominican national received first aid and was taken to the hospital.

Body camera footage taken by NYPD officers who responded to the scene showed them loading Belgal into their vehicle and driving him to the hospital.

The NYPD officer behind the wheel repeatedly shouted for his colleague to apply pressure to Belgal’s wound.

The ICE officers were also wearing body cameras that recorded the shooting, Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said.

ICE has since moved Belgal to a detention center outside of New York, but did not disclose his location.

“This individual yesterday decided to not comply with lawful orders given by federal law enforcement officers, ICE officers, good men and women that are out there every day enforcing the immigration laws,” Charles said.

“We will continue to prosecute this individual to the fullest, we will continue to place him in removal proceedings, and we will continue to try to remove him from this country as quickly as possible following his charges,” he said.

The NYPD previously arrested Belgal on December 7, 2023, but released him days later without notifying ICE due to sanctuary policies in New York, according to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

Belgal had a prior criminal conviction for grand larceny. He also was previously arrested for assault, robbery, drug possession, and weapons possession, DHS said.

On April 5, 2025, he was sentenced to five years of probation, Charles said.

The illegal immigrant also has alleged associations with the Trinitarios gang, which it linked to the shooting of a Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officer last year, DHS said. Charles said Belgal is believed to possibly have a connection to the earlier shooting.

“The gang that he runs with is known for theft using weapons and mopeds,” Charles said.

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