New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani condemned the shooting of a man by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents on Thursday in a post on X/Twitter, calling for ICE agents to be removed from the city.
"I am angry tonight," the mayor wrote. "ICE makes this city less safe. We want them out. Now."
Mamdani also called out ICE for not wearing any kind of uniform, denying people the ability to perceive them as law enforcement.
"Residents have no idea if these are law enforcement agents or if they are simply attacking someone on the street," Mamdani said. "And when it comes to ICE, it begs the question: What's the difference?"
ICE agents shot and wounded the man in his car with a child present in the vehicle in the Bronx borough of New York City, according to the mayor, city police and eyewitness accounts.
"Early reports indicate agents surrounded (the man) and a 5-year-old-child in his car before firing multiple rounds," Mamdani said in his initial statement statement.
The mayor said the child was believed to have been physically unharmed. He referred to the man shot as a "New Yorker."
"This is an unconscionable and incredibly serious situation," Mamdani said, adding he had called President Donald Trump to talk about the incident. "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."
ICE did not immediately respond to a request from Reuters for comment on the incident.
The incident was first reported on X by the New York Police Department, which gave few details other than to say: "there was a shooting involving federal law enforcement agents," and that the person shot was "currently conscious and receiving medical attention."
Shooting took place in the Bronx
The shooting occurred at around 4 p.m. ET in the Marble Hill neighborhood of the Bronx, the NYPD said.
An NYPD spokesperson said the agents involved in the shooting were part of DHS, the parent agency for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Customs and Border Protection and Border Patrol agencies, among others, and that federal authorities were investigating.
Pedro Almarez, owner of a nearby eatery, said he was working at the restaurant when he heard shots fired and went outside to see several officers wearing ICE attire at the scene.
"There were a lot of ICE officers, three or four cars," Almarez told Reuters by phone, adding the man who was shot appeared to be between 20 and 30 years of age. He said NYPD officers arrived about 10 minutes later.
The city police department said its officers were not involved in the shooting.
At the shooting scene, where police strung yellow crime-scene tape to cordon off a city block, a woman standing on a balcony overlooking the area was heckling officers below about "taking our children."