ICE officer shot and wounded man during New York enforcement operation

The Department of Homeland Security said ICE officers were conducting a targeted operation to arrest a man from the Dominican Republic. DHS said an ICE officer fired a weapon and wounded a man.

Separately, two law-enforcement sources told CBS that preliminary information indicated agents were trying to take someone into custody when a different man, who was not the arrest target, was shot. That account raises a basic question about the operation: whether the wounded man was the person agents sought or someone else.

DHS said the incident remained under investigation. The sequence before the gunfire and the reason the officer fired are central to understanding how the encounter unfolded.

Who was ICE trying to arrest?

DHS described the operation as an effort to arrest a man from the Dominican Republic. The preliminary account from the two sources cited by CBS News identified the wounded man as someone other than the intended arrest target. The accounts describe the operation from different vantage points; they do not, by themselves, explain the relationship between the person ICE sought and the man who was shot.

That distinction matters to any public accounting of the shooting. An explanation of who agents were trying to take into custody, and how the wounded man came to be involved, would clarify the operation’s immediate context. DHS’s statement confirmed that an ICE officer fired, but did not explain what led to the gunfire.

DHS also alleged that the wounded man had ties to the Trinitarios gang, a prior arrest and a criminal conviction. CBS reported that DHS said the NYPD arrested him in December 2023 and released him a few days later. Those allegations describe the department’s characterization of the man; they do not explain why the officer fired.

What did witnesses and video show?

Pedro Almaraz, an employee at a nearby restaurant, told AP that he heard what he estimated were three or four gunshots. He said he saw a man on the ground surrounded by masked officers wearing vests marked with DHS insignia. His description is a witness account, not an official count of shots fired.

AP also described photos and video showing ICE-badged agents at the scene, including one carrying a rifle, and a damaged car. Footage showed NYPD officers carrying an apparently injured man to a police vehicle.

The distinction between what a witness heard, what images show and what officials say is important in an incident involving an armed federal officer. Almaraz’s estimate gives one account of the sound of the shooting; DHS confirmed that an ICE officer discharged a weapon. Neither detail, on its own, explains what the officer perceived before firing.

Who is investigating, and what are officials asking for?

The FBI said an evidence response team was responding to assist DHS investigators. DHS said the incident remained under investigation, and CBS reported that authorities were continuing to investigate. The FBI team was responding to the scene to assist DHS investigators.

Gov. Kathy Hochul called for a transparent account of the shooting. “New Yorkers deserve to know exactly what happened and why,” she said in a statement reported by AP.

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani also condemned the shooting. “I will not stand by while ICE agents terrorize our communities,” he said in a statement reported by AP.

City Council Speaker Julie Menin called for a prompt federal account, CBS reported, and raised concern about fear and uncertainty among immigrant New Yorkers. For residents, the questions are not only about the officer’s actions but also about how federal enforcement operations affect people nearby and how officials account for them afterward.

CBS News’ analysis counted at least 30 shootings involving Department of Homeland Security officers during the second Trump administration. That figure is CBS’s analysis; the Marble Hill shooting remains a specific incident whose circumstances and use of force must be addressed through its investigation.

DHS has said the investigation is underway, while city and state officials have called for a public explanation.