‘ICE is rotten to its core’: Mamdani says he spent two hours asking Trump and DHS to release a man shot by ICE in the Bronx, but the talks failed

Mayor Zohran Mamdani of New York City said he spent two hours on the phone with Trump and Markwayne Mullin, the Homeland Security secretary, trying to secure the freedom of a man shot by an ICE agent in the city, and that the talks were unsuccessful, according to Fox 17. He added that ICE “put the man in an unmarked vehicle and whisked him away” before his press conference began at about 11:20 p.m.

Mamdani spoke after the shooting, which took place around 4 p.m. on Thursday, October 8, near West 225th Street and Marble Hill Avenue, News 12 reports. “We know that ICE is rotten to its core,” he said, and he called what happened “an outrage.” He said it came right after school let out, with children and families out in the area, and that a 5-year-old in the car was not hurt.

amNY reports that Mamdani called the incident “an unconscionable and incredibly serious situation” and said he plans to press Trump to stop every ICE operation across New York City. His social media post closed with the words “Abolish ICE.”

Two agencies, two accounts

According to IBTimes UK, DHS says its operation targeted a man from the Dominican Republic who was previously convicted of grand larceny and has been arrested before. DHS also says the man drove his vehicle into two government vehicles and toward officers. The report adds that the justification for the force has not been independently established.

NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said at least one ICE agent fired seven rounds, striking the man in the neck, CBS New York reports. She described police camera footage showing the car backing into a spot, a plainclothes officer walking up to the driver’s window with a weapon out, and the car then moving forward out of view.

Officers who arrived encountered several men in construction-style vests and face masks, and the man handcuffed on the ground. The department said the NYPD was not involved in the shooting. The NYPD also said the man was arrested in 2023, pleaded guilty to fourth-degree grand larceny and received probation, and faces a pending 2025 drug sale charge. He was taken to NewYork-Presbyterian Allen Hospital in stable condition before ICE removed him.

Mullin said Trump offered to hand the man to the NYPD, and that Mamdani wanted federal agents to “walk away.” On the “rotten” remark, Mullin replied that ICE officers enforce laws the mayor refuses to enforce. Gov. Kathy Hochul said New Yorkers deserve to know exactly what happened and why.

About 300 people gathered outside the hospital Thursday night, and the NYPD confirmed at least five people were detained early Friday. A CNN analysis found at least 21 people shot by ICE and CBP personnel during Trump’s second term. Under a DHS policy updated in 2023, officers are prohibited from firing at the driver of a moving vehicle unless deadly force is justified under the policy’s standards.