ICE officer shoots a man while making an arrest in New York, officials say

“We are heartbroken and enraged,” City Council Member Carmen De La Rosa, a Democrat who emigrated from the Dominican Republic and now represents the neighborhood where the shooting happened. Some other elected officials cursed ICE and Trump, a Republican.

Demonstrators at the scene chanted, “ICE off our streets now!” The politicians and protesters planned to march to the hospital where the injured man was being treated.

DHS complained that its officers “are forced to make arrests at large in the community in unpredictable and dangerous environments” when “dangerous illegal aliens” get released. The agency blamed “reckless sanctuary policies” in Democrat-led areas. There is no clear definition of sanctuary jurisdictions, but the term is generally applied to state and local governments that limit cooperation with federal immigration authorities.

ICE agents have fired their guns during more than a dozen vehicle stops since last year, killing at least four people and wounding others. In late September, ICE ordered its officers not to engage in high-speed car chases and to make vehicle stops only if they have completed specific training.

Thursday’s shooting unfolded in Marble Hill, a small part of Manhattan that is attached to the Bronx.

Pedro Almaraz, an employee at a nearby restaurant, said he heard about three or four gunshots and saw a man on the ground surrounded by several officers wearing face masks and vests with Department of Homeland Security branding. Witnesses, he said, were screaming.

Videos and photos posted by bystanders on social media showed a man sitting on the ground with his hands behind his back, in the immediate aftermath of the shooting. Another video shows New York City police officers picking up an apparently injured man and carrying him into a police vehicle.

Nearby, a damaged car sat blocking the roadway with small holes in two of its windows.

The videos show agents wearing ICE badges on the scene, including one carrying a rifle.

Neighborhood resident Alfred Silva, 38, called for federal officers to more clearly identify themselves, saying one was wearing a construction safety vest and carrying a rifle.

“We need to have better transparency to understand who we’re dealing with, because anybody in the street can just put on a vest and pull out a gun and claim to be ICE,” he said.

“I feel like regardless if you’re left or right, we should understand that this shouldn’t be happening.”

In a statement, Gov. Kathy Hochul said New Yorkers were outraged, immigrant communities were terrified and the state wanted answers.

“New Yorkers have witnessed far too many acts of violence by a rogue federal agency and untrained agents that operate with impunity,” the Democratic governor said.

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Associated Press writer Michael R. Sisak contributed.

Philip Marcelo, Jennifer Peltz And Anthony Izaguirre, The Associated Press

by The Canadian Press

ICE officer shoots a man while making an arrest in New York, officials say

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