DHS goes after NBC's 'misleading' claims after ICE shoots dad in neck with 5-year-old in car
NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: The Department of Homeland Security, on Friday, October 9, hit back at NBC News over its coverage of an ICE shooting in New York City on Thursday, accusing the network of misleading the American public about the circumstances surrounding the incident.
While NBC’s initial post highlighted a man’s neck injury and the presence of his young son inside the vehicle, DHS responded with allegations about the driver’s conduct, criminal history and actions toward federal officers.
The department argued that the circumstances demanded a different account of the encounter.
Why is @NBCNews deliberately misleading the American people? This individual decided to not comply with lawful orders, given by federal law enforcement officers. He has charges in New York for robbery, grand larceny, and armed theft with a deadly weapon. He put his child in danger by choosing to accelerate at a high speed and ram two different vehicles in what appears to be an attempt to harm ICE officers. Any public outcry should be directed towards this reckless criminal.
— Homeland Security (@DHSgov) October 9, 2026
DHS takes aim at NBC report
“Why is NBC News deliberately misleading the American people?” DHS asked in a post on X, directly challenging the network’s description of the shooting.
NBC’s initial report said an ICE officer had shot a man in the neck while his five-year-old son was inside the car.
It also noted that the shooting occurred during a targeted enforcement operation and that the injured man had been taken to a hospital in stable condition, citing New York Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch.
DHS countered that the man had failed to obey lawful orders from federal officers.
The department alleged that he accelerated at high speed and struck two vehicles in what appeared to be an attempt to harm ICE personnel.
The agency accused NBC of deliberate misleading of facts and further pointed to the man’s criminal history, citing robbery and an armed-theft offense in New York.
It argued that he, rather than the federal officers, should be the focus of public anger.
“He put his child in danger,” DHS alleged, accusing the driver of making a reckless decision during the encounter.
An ICE officer shot a man in the neck in New York City as the man’s 5-year-old son was in the car, officials say. DHS says the shooting occurred during a “targeted enforcement operation.” He was taken by the NYPD to a hospital in stable condition, Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch says. https://t.co/rXKBEDIA5m
— NBC News (@NBCNews) October 9, 2026
NBC’s fuller report also included information about the man’s previous criminal case and pending charges, along with police accounts of the confrontation.
DHS’s criticism, however, centered on the network’s shorter post, which did not include the additional allegations detailed in the department’s response.
ICE shooting in New York
The incident occurred on Thursday in the Marble Hill neighborhood of Upper Manhattan, where federal officers were conducting an immigration enforcement operation targeting Oscar Belgal, a Dominican national.
Tisch said Belgal was pulling into a parking space when a plainclothes federal officer approached the driver’s side with a gun drawn.
Another officer then approached the vehicle.
According to the commissioner, the car began moving forward before an officer fired seven rounds, striking Belgal in the neck below his left ear.
Police surveillance footage captured part of the encounter but not the shooting itself, Tisch said.
Belgal was taken to a hospital in stable condition, while his five-year-old son was reported physically unharmed.
This afternoon in Marble Hill, a New Yorker was shot by an ICE agent in a residential neighborhood. Early reports indicate agents surrounded him and a 5-year-old child in his car before firing multiple rounds. We believe the child was physically unharmed. This is an unconscionable and incredibly serious situation. I have called the President; 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. Our thoughts are with the injured New Yorker and his family tonight. We are praying for his recovery. Get ICE out of our neighborhoods. Get ICE out of our hospitals. Get ICE off our streets. Get ICE away from our children. Abolish ICE.
— Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani (@NYCMayor) October 8, 2026
Belgal had pleaded guilty to fourth-degree grand larceny following a 2023 robbery arrest, Tisch said. A separate case involving an alleged illegal substance sale remains pending.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani condemned the shooting, questioning why federal officers had fired multiple rounds into a vehicle carrying a child.
