Mullin accuses Oscar Belgal of ramming ICE vehicles and endangering a child

Secretary of Homeland Security, Markwayne Mullin, defended ICE agents on Friday who shot and wounded Oscar Belgal during an operation in Marble Hill, New York.

During a press conference, Mullin stated that the officers were unaware there was a child in the vehicle and accused Belgal of ramming two cars before heading toward the officers. "Oscar chose to accelerate at a high rate of speed and ram two different vehicles as it appears he was going towards officers," the secretary stated.

Mullin's account

The secretary stated that Belgal "knew he had a child in his car" and argued that public outrage should also be directed at the driver, whom he described as "this criminal, this thug, this gangbanger, this possible murderer," and whom he accused of endangering the child.

According to reports from the New York Post (NYP), this Friday, Marcos Charles, head of ICE's Enforcement and Removal Operations, said that Belgal "weaponized his vehicle" by driving it toward other agents. The agents then opened fire.

The New York Police Department (NYPD) has not confirmed that account.

Belgal's background

Last night, the New York Police Department identified Oscar Belgal, 28, as the man shot during an ICE operation in Marble Hill, in northern Manhattan. Commissioner Jessica Tisch said that at least one federal agent fired seven shots and that Belgal was struck in the neck, below his left ear.

Tisch noted at a press conference that Belgal had a local criminal history, including two arrests in the city, a 2023 guilty plea for fourth-degree theft and five years of probation, and a 2025 case involving drug sales that remains pending.

DHS states that the individual has ties to the Trinitarios gang, the same gang that, according to the department, shot and killed a Border Patrol agent (CBP) last year.