Clashes broke out on Thursday evening (October 8) between approximately 300 protesters and New York City police officers a rally outside a hospital in the Bronx, where a man is being treated for a neck injury sustained when he was shot by an agent of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

The incident had occurred a few hours earlier, when federal agents attempted to arrest the man while he was in his car with a five-year-old child, who, according to initial reports, was not injured. Mayor Zoran Mamdani called the situation unacceptable and announced that he had contacted the White House, to ask President Donald Trump to halt ICE operations in the city.

Protesters are now chasing ICE out of NYC. https://t.co/w3QeQWHAJC

— Ali (@MerruX) October 8, 2026

Clashes outside the hospital: “We want ICE off our streets”

About 300 people gathered Thursday evening outside New York-Presbyterian Allen Hospital, where the injured man had been taken, protesting the use of a firearm by an ICE agent.

The gathering escalated into a confrontation with NYPD officers who were in the area, as the protesters demanded an end to the federal immigration agency’s operations in New York.

“We want ICE off our streets. No justice, no peace,” the crowd chanted.

Among the slogans heard was “From Palestine to Mexico, all these walls must come down.”

The protest took place while questions remained unanswered regarding the circumstances of the shooting and, in particular, the presence of the minor in the car. No further details have been provided regarding the extent of the incidents or any arrests of protesters.

Reporter on ICE shooting in Marble Hill, NYC: He was shot while inside his vehicle. The NYPD says he’s now at a hospital. When we arrived, there was a rush of ICE officers. Then they all suddenly left in a hurry. https://t.co/FRGxVf1fqA

— FactPost (@factpostnews) October 9, 2026

The Shooting in Marble Hill and the Child in the Car

The incident that sparked the reactions occurred around 4:00 p.m. local time (11:00 p.m. Cyprus time), in the Marble Hill neighborhood, during an ICE operation to arrest a citizen of the Dominican Republic.

According to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the agents’ target was a man who was residing in the U.S. illegally and had been convicted multiple times by the courts.

During the operation, an agent fired his service weapon, wounding the man. A spokesperson for the department told Agence France-Presse (AFP) that federal agents immediately provided him with assistance before he was transported to a hospital.

According to available information, the injured man was shot in the neck and survived.

The mayor of New York City presented a different account of the circumstances surrounding the incident.

Footage moments after today’s ICE SHOOTING in NYC https://t.co/nj8vnvp2Oa

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— Breaking X (@BreakingXAlerts) October 8, 2026

“According to initial reports, agents surrounded him while he was inside his car with a five-year-old child, before firing repeatedly,” Mamdani stated in his post.

He added that, according to his information, the child was not injured.

It remains unclear exactly what led up to the agent’s use of his weapon, as the two sides have not provided identical accounts of the incident.

Mamdani Calls on Trump to Halt ICE Operations

The mayor condemned the shooting, calling the situation “unacceptable and extremely serious.”

At the same time, he announced that he had called U.S. President Donald Trump to raise the issue of federal agents’ actions in New York.

“When we speak, I will ask him to put an end to all immigration enforcement operations carried out by ICE in our city,” he said.

Mamdani appeared determined to continue his confrontation with the federal government, arguing that the agency’s operations instill fear in local communities.

“I will not stand idly by while ICE agents terrorize our communities,” he emphasized.

His remarks are part of the city government’s broader disagreement with the Trump administration’s immigration policy, which has increased operations to locate and arrest undocumented immigrants.

DHS links the injured man to the Trinitarios gang

For its part, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security claimed that the man agents attempted to arrest had a lengthy criminal record and was allegedly linked to the Trinitarios.

According to DHS, this is the same criminal organization whose members had shot and wounded a Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agent the previous year.

The department also reported that the man had been arrested by the New York City Police Department on December 7, 2023, but was released a few days later.

In a strongly worded statement, DHS attributed his release to the immigrant protection policies implemented by

Democrats, arguing that these practices endanger the lives of American citizens.

Claims regarding the injured man’s ties to the gang in question have not been independently confirmed.

Hokul calls for full transparency and for immigrant organizations to get involved

New York State Governor Kathy Hochul, who called on federal authorities to fully clarify the circumstances of the operation.

“We expect federal authorities to provide a full and completely transparent explanation of the circumstances surrounding this incident,” she said in a public statement.

Meanwhile, the New York Immigration Coalition, an organization that defends the rights of immigrants, condemned the use of armed force by an ICE agent.

In a statement, the organization described the incident as yet another example of the violence that, it claims, the federal agency inflicts on immigrant communities.

The organization called for an immediate investigation, the release of footage from the agents’ body cameras, and accountability if it is determined that disproportionate force was used.

The FBI is also participating in the investigation of the shooting and has sent a team to collect and examine evidence. The New York Police Department clarified that its officers did not participate in the ICE operation during which the man was injured.

Over 5,500 arrests by ICE in the New York area

The incident comes amid heightened tensions between city officials and the federal government over immigration policy.

New York, a traditional Democratic stronghold, has significantly curtailed local authorities’ cooperation with ICE. However, the agency’s operations have intensified since Donald Trump returned to the White House in January 2025.

According to a municipal document released in May, from January 20, 2025, to March 10, 2026, ICE agents had carried out 5,567 arrests in the greater New York City area.

The increase in the agency’s activity has sparked repeated protests, with immigrant organizations and local officials denouncing the methods used during the operations.

Following the shooting in Marble Hill and the clashes outside the hospital, the focus of the controversy has now shifted to investigating the circumstances under which a federal agent opened fire on a man who was in a car with a five-year-old child.

Source: Proto Thema