Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is demanding a “full and independent investigation” of an ICE shooting in the Bronx, and she is blaming Target for letting federal agents use a parking lot, even as the Department of Homeland Security says the man who was shot is a criminal illegal immigrant with gang ties.
The shooting took place at approximately 4:20 p.m. Thursday.
Agents were trying to arrest 28-year-old Oscar Belgal, a Dominican national the NYPD identified and DHS described as tied to the Trinitarios gang. He was shot in his vehicle.
A 5-year-old boy, believed to be his son, was in the back seat and was not hurt.
Bronx: West 225th Street& Marble Hill Avenue, a man was shot and injured during a targeted @ICEgov enforcement operation earlier today, sparking chaos on the streets of the Bronx.
According to the @DHSgov, ICE agents were attempting to arrest a Dominican national around 4 p.m. Department of Homeland Security said the man has a prior grand larceny conviction, multiple arrests for assault, robbery, drug and weapons offenses, and alleged ties to the Trinitarios gang. @DHSgov also stated that he was arrested by the @NYPDnews in December 2023 but released days later. During the operation, an ICE agent discharged his firearm, injuring the man. Officers immediately provided medical assistance, and he was transported to a local hospital. The @FBI @NewYorkFBI and Homeland Security Investigations responded to the scene. The incident remains under investigation.
The federal agent-involved shooting has drawn agitators to the streets of the Bronx, where protests have escalated into chaotic scenes, unrest, and confrontations with police.
— NYC Scoop (@NY_Scoop) October 9, 2026
Belgal was taken to a nearby hospital and is expected to survive.
DHS said Belgal has a conviction for grand larceny and prior arrests for assault, robbery, drug possession, and weapons possession.
Sources told the New York Post that agents were also looking at whether he is tied to the migrant moped crew that shot an off-duty Border Patrol agent at Fort Washington Park last year.
Naturally, AOC sided with the violent criminal in a statement posted to X.
My statement on the ICE shooting in Marble Hill ⬇️ https://t.co/eDXEv5Vxrr
— Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@RepAOC) October 9, 2026
“ICE’s already unwelcome presence in our city has been growing more escalatory and dangerous by the day. Today’s shooting is a grave development that requires a swift and immediate response to protect the safety of all New Yorkers,” she said.
The congresswoman called first for “a full and independent investigation of this incident,” then for “a full and immediate release of all body camera footage.”
She also blamed Target rather than the criminal.
“In addition, the Target Corporation must stop offering its Bronx properties as private staging sites for ICE, in compliance with requests from New York officials,” she said.
“Target opening up large, active retail parking lots for paramilitary activity is unacceptable and places the entire community at risk.”
The Target store is about half a mile from where the shooting took place.
A representative for the retail giant told the New York Post, “Target has no cooperative agreements with ICE or any other immigration enforcement agency.”
Ocasio-Cortez concluded by calling ICE “a rogue, lawless paramilitary and surveillance agency” that “does not belong in New York City and it should not exist in the United States of America. Abolish ICE.”
New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani also sided with the criminal.
Mamdani said he tried to reach President Trump to demand an end to ICE enforcement in the city and that he tried to negotiate Belgal’s release.
“This is an unconscionable and incredibly serious situation. I have called the President; when we speak I will demand that he ends all ICE enforcement actions in our city. I will not stand by while ICE agents terrorize our communities,” Mamdani said.
About 300 protesters gathered outside the hospital, and many clashed with police.
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