Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
Man shot by ICE in NYC's Marble Hill said federal officers never identified themselves
By
Arya Sundaram
and
Samantha Max
Published Oct 14, 2026
Modified Oct 14, 2026
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
Image obtained by Gothamist
By
Arya Sundaram
and
Samantha Max
Published Oct 14, 2026
Modified Oct 14, 2026
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
The man shot and wounded by federal immigration agents in Marble Hill last week says that he didn’t know that the men who ambushed and shot him were U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents until he later woke up in the hospital.
A new petition filed in Brooklyn federal court on Oscar Belgal's behalf includes key details that contradict the Trump administration’s version of the events. Belgal claims in the filing on Wednesday that the ICE agents involved — many of them masked — didn’t identify themselves before approaching his vehicle with firearms drawn.
“The men did not identify themselves, show any documents or otherwise communicate with Oscar in any substantive way,” according to the filing. Last week, U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin told reporters that the agents identified themselves as they approached Belgal’s vehicle in the Oct. 8 encounter on a busy street. “ There was no question he would've known who was approaching,” Mullin said.
The petition also says that Belgal “vehemently denies” any relationship to any gang or organized criminal group. Top ICE and DHS officials claimed Belgal was part of the Trinitarios gang, and said that is why he was targeted for arrest.
The petition also states that Belgal, a 28-year-old Dominican immigrant, received no aid from the federal agents, even as he pleaded for medical assistance. The petition states that Belgal was not trying to ram his vehicle into officers. Federal officials claimed Belgal was fired upon after he “weaponized his vehicle” and tried to ram into officers.
A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security said in a statement that Belgal’s arrest was justified because he was in the country without authorization, and that Belgal disobeyed ICE agents' commands during the incident and fled from law enforcement. The government was given a Monday deadline to respond.
The petition advocating for Belgal’s immediate release from ICE custody replaces a previous petition filed on Belgal’s behalf in Manhattan shortly after his arrest.
The new petition provides the clearest picture yet of Belgal's version of the events. Moments before he was shot, Belgal had picked up his 5-year-old son from school and taken him to McDonald’s for a snack, according to the petition.
Belgal parked in a spot near his Marble Hill home, but he began to pull out as he realized it was in front of a fire hydrant, the petition states. That’s when an armed man dressed in civilian clothing and wearing black face coverings “bolted toward his vehicle,” according to the new court filing. Several other men followed, wearing masks and holding weapons.
The men — who Belgal said he only later learned were ICE agents — did not appear to be law enforcement or identify themselves as immigration agents, the petition states. They did not present him with an arrest warrant, say his name or provide any other substantive explanation for the encounter as they confronted him through his partially rolled-down car window, the filing states. One of the agents pointed a weapon inside the car, leaving Belgal “terrified” for his and his son’s lives, according to the filing.
Belgal’s attorneys said in the petition that one officer struck the driver’s side window and shattered the glass, which exploded on Belgal’s face and arm. The agent then fired at least seven shots into the car while Belgal’s son “cowered in the back seat,” according to the petition.
Marcos Charles, the executive associate director of ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations wing, last week alleged that Belgal “weaponized his vehicle” against the agents as they tried to arrest him. But in the new filing, Belgal’s attorneys said video footage “clearly shows” that he was trying to pull his car forward, where no officers were stationed at the time, to get away from the officer who was shooting into his vehicle. The attorneys said another car then “careened from behind and blocked the path.”
After a bullet hit Belgal in the neck, he got out of his car and “pleaded for medical assistance, fearing that he was dying,” the filing states. His son screamed that the masked men had killed his father, according to the petition.
The petition states the officers threw Belgal down, handcuffed him, pinned him to the car and left him slumped over as he faded in and out of consciousness, rather than providing medical aid. It also accuses ICE agents of failing to take any steps to get him to a hospital — noting that it was NYPD officers who took him to get medical care.
Belgal didn’t realize until he woke up in the hospital that the men who confronted him with guns drawn were immigration agents, his attorneys said. In his hospital bed, ICE officers handcuffed him, according to the petition.
Doctors told Belgal that he needed surgery to remove the bullet and that he should come back for surgery the next week, the filing states. After his release from the hospital, immigration officials took him to New Jersey for the night, then to the Metropolitan Detention Center in Sunset Park, his attorneys said.
Last week, a federal judge ordered that Belgal not be removed from the country or transferred outside of the New York City metro area or New Jersey for the time being.
While in ICE detention, Belgal "replays the traumatic events of Oct. 8 over and over in his memory, with his son’s hysterical cries ringing endlessly in his head,” the petition states.
Belgal's son didn't speak for several days after seeing his father shot, and suffers daily from nightmares, according to the petition.
This story was updated with additional information.
Tagged
Race And Justice Unit
immigration and customs enforcement
marble hill
new york city
public safety
Arya Sundaram
Arya is a reporter covering race and justice. Got a tip? Email: [email protected] or reach Arya on Signal at 512-650-8767.
Read more
Samantha Max
Samantha reports on whether New Yorkers feel safe and whether the institutions that are supposed to protect them are working. Before coming to WNYC/Gothamist, she spent three years covering the criminal justice system in Tennessee for Nashville Public Radio. Her reporting on Nashville's police department received multiple awards, including the Daniel Schorr Journalism Prize. Samantha was also part of the inaugural class of Report for America, a service journalism program that sends up-and-coming reporters to local newsrooms across the country. She is a Northwestern University grad, a Baltimore native and fluent in Spanish. Got a tip? Email [email protected] or Signal: samanthamaxwnyc.93.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
NY Archdiocese will soon settle $800M clergy sexual abuse claims
The deal would compensate over 1,300 alleged victims and help the church avoid bankruptcy.
By
Arya Sundaram
Published Oct 24, 2026 at 6:31 p.m. ET
Chinatown residents file lawsuit against after-hours construction on new 'mega jail'
Residents cite sleep disruption and dust-induced illness from nearly ‘round the clock’ construction.
By
Arya Sundaram
News
Chinatown residents file lawsuit against after-hours construction on new 'mega jail'
Residents cite sleep disruption and dust-induced illness from nearly ‘round the clock’ construction.
By
Arya Sundaram
Peepapalooza: NYC is heading to the Hudson Valley to watch the leaves
By
Elizabeth Shwe
and
Sean Carlson
NYPD: Officer shot, injured knife-wielding woman during ‘chaotic’ night at Queens home
By
Ryan Kost
3 slates vying to run Jersey City school board as city stares down major tax hikes
By
Michael Sol Warren
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .