Oscar Belgal was released from the hospital and transferred to federal custody in Brooklyn following a Friday court hearing.
Belgal, 28, survived a gunshot wound to the neck after ICE agents opened fire during an attempted arrest Thursday afternoon in Marble Hill, The Bronx. The Dominican Republic native, who federal sources believe entered the US illegally with a migrant caravan in 2022, was behind the wheel of a parked Honda SUV with his 5-year-old son in the backseat when plainclothes agents rushed his vehicle with guns drawn around 4 p.m.
Security footage captured Belgal peeling away and out of camera view after agents approached. Marcos Charles, head of ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations division, said Belgal “accelerated” at the agents, “smashing” into two of them. Seven bullets shattered the car’s front, side and rear windows. The child was physically unharmed and is now in family care.
The shooting drew immediate condemnation from Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who addressed reporters outside NewYork-Presbyterian Allen Hospital where protesters had gathered.
“A New Yorker was shot by ICE agents in Marble Hill,” Mamdani said. “ICE agents surrounded the man’s vehicle before opening fire. They wore construction vests and masks that concealed their faces. There was no reasonable way to identify them as ICE agents.”
The mayor continued: “You are hearing from New Yorkers right now — anguish, pain, anger — at the fact that here in this city, the world’s city, immigrants have to wake up every morning and not know if they can live the lives that they should be able to live.”
But Mamdani’s characterization of Belgal as “a New Yorker” struck a nerve with some Bronx residents, including Migdalia Martinez, whose 12-year-old son Jacob Freytas was killed in July by a stray bullet in Mt. Eden during suspected Trinitarios gang crossfire.
“I don’t consider him a New Yorker,” Martinez told The Post Friday. “The only thing I do consider him as is trash, nothing else but trash. And I don’t consider New York, my home, as trash.”
Asked if the mayor was wrong to apply that label, Martinez replied: “The mayor is wrong in many ways — that’s definitely one.”
Mora Rodriguez, an elderly longtime resident of Belgal’s former Inwood building, was equally blunt when asked if she considered him a New Yorker.
“Absolutely not. That’s one of the reasons I think we should vote blue out,” Rodriguez told The Post. “What’s going on with the legal system, the jail, letting these people go after they have a whole list of convictions. This is a criminal. Why would you let this person out? These judges are very radical. We gotta vote red. That’s what I can say to you.”
Belgal’s criminal record began drawing federal attention well before Thursday’s confrontation. By December 2023, he had been arrested for an armed robbery committed the previous month in Fordham Heights, during which he allegedly turned to backseat passengers while driving along Morris Avenue, pointed a gun, and demanded “give me your jewelry or I will shoot you.” The victims surrendered jewelry and approximately $500 cash.
Despite the armed robbery charge, Belgal was released without bail pending trial. He pleaded guilty to fourth-degree grand larceny in April 2025 and received one month in jail plus five years probation at his January sentencing.
The apparent leniency did not end his run-ins with law enforcement. In August 2025, months after his conviction, Belgal was arrested again for allegedly selling fentanyl, cocaine and heroin. Those charges were not bail-eligible, and though prosecutors secured the highest level of supervised release, a federal detention detainer requesting local authorities transfer him to ICE was not honored.
Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin pinned blame squarely on New York’s sanctuary laws, which restrict local cooperation with federal immigration authorities.
“Sanctuary politicians create an environment for criminal activity to thrive, not for American citizens to be safe,” Mullin said. “When you have sanctuary cities and politicians, you endanger the safety of the public.”
Mullin confirmed the ICE agents wore body-worn cameras, though the footage was not immediately released. He also revealed Belgal was being investigated for potential links to the July 2025 shooting of an off-duty CBP officer at Fort Washington Park — an attack allegedly carried out by two illegal immigrants from the Dominican Republic, one of whom was sentenced to 15 years in prison on Monday. Law enforcement sources said Belgal’s name and contact information appeared in one suspect’s phone.
This marked ICE’s second attempt to arrest Belgal; officials said he fled and escaped during a September operation. Following Friday’s court hearing, he was sent to the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn. His name appeared variously across court documents and agency records as Belgal, Bengal or Bergal.
