New York (AFP) – New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani said Thursday he would ask US President Donald Trump to remove federal immigration agents from the city as tensions flared over the latest shooting involving ICE. The New York Police Department said a man had been shot around 4:00 pm in the Marble Hill neighborhood of the Bronx during an altercation with federal agents. Mamdani and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) later confirmed that the shooting occurred during an operation of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the agency responsible for Trump’s immigration crackdown.
A DHS spokesperson said in a statement that agents were attempting to “arrest a criminal illegal alien from the Dominican Republic with a prior criminal conviction for grand larceny, and multiple prior arrests for assault, robbery, possession of drugs, and weapons possession.” It did not state how many officers fired their weapons or why. “ICE officers immediately rendered aid. The individual is alive and at a local hospital,” the DHS spokesperson said. The department initially claimed that the person targeted had associations with a Dominican gang, but later issued a revised statement removing that sentence.
Mamdani said that a five-year-old child was in the car when the altercation occurred. “This is an unconscionable and incredibly serious situation,” the Democratic mayor said on X, adding that he had 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,” he added. Trump, a Republican, heavily criticized Mamdani before he took office in January, but the two men have since struck a surprisingly warm relationship.
Several hundred protesters gathered peacefully at the scene of the shooting Thursday evening to express opposition to Trump’s crackdown, AFP observed. Many people then moved to the nearby hospital where the victim was being treated. Tensions with the police escalated when some protesters attempted to prevent cars from leaving the hospital, before being moved away from the entrance by law enforcement, who set up barriers.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul posted to X Thursday, saying she expects “federal authorities to provide a full and transparent accounting of the circumstances surrounding this incident.” “This incident is another reminder of the unchecked, rampant violence ICE has been spreading throughout our communities,” said Murad Awawdeh, president of the New York Immigration Coalition. “We demand an immediate investigation into the shooting, the release of the body camera footage, and accountability for any ICE agents who used excessive force.”
ICE has been involved in several high-profile shootings this year, including the killing of two US citizens in Minneapolis, which sparked angry protests. New York, a Democratic stronghold, is one of several US cities that bars its police force from assisting with federal immigration enforcement.
© 2024 AFP
