Trump calls ICE agents heroes after New York shooting — The Rio Times
US President Donald Trump, at a rally in Syracuse, New York, on October 9, called US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents heroes after the shooting at the car of 28-year-old Dominican Oscar Bergal in New York. According to The Rio Times, more than 1,000 people protested in Manhattan that same evening, demanding an independent investigation into the actions of federal agents.
Trump's statement
Speaking in support of Republican Party candidate for New York governor Bruce Blakeman, Trump said that ICE agents had detained a person with an extensive criminal record who was allegedly being sought in connection with a possible homicide and a gang-related murder. He did not name the person, but the EFE news agency linked his remarks to Bergal's case.
Trump also said that New York politicians had disparaged ICE instead of praising the agency. The Rio Times notes that he provided no evidence for his claim about a possible homicide. According to New York Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch, Bergal pleaded guilty to fourth-degree larceny after being detained in connection with a 2023 robbery case and received five years of probation. A case concerning alleged drug sales, opened in 2025, is still pending. There is no public information about Bergal being charged with murder.
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The shooting and protest
The shooting occurred on October 8 in the Marble Hill neighborhood of Manhattan. According to police, an ICE officer fired seven shots at Bergal's car while his five-year-old son was inside. The child was not injured, while the man was wounded in the neck below the ear, police said.
Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said that Bergal failed to comply with an order to leave the vehicle, collided with two ICE vehicles and drove toward agents. According to him, the agents did not know that a child was in the car. At the same time, Tisch said that city cameras recorded a federal agent in plain clothes approaching the vehicle with a gun, but the cameras did not record the moment the shots were fired.
Participants in the rally outside the federal building at 26 Federal Plaza demanded the release of body-camera footage, Bergal's release, and charges against the officer who fired. A federal judge in Manhattan temporarily barred his deportation. The US Department of Homeland Security, the FBI and the Bronx District Attorney's Office are conducting investigations.
