A US federal immigration officer shot and wounded a Dominican man while arresting him in New York City, during what the Department of Homeland Security called a “targeted enforcement operation”.

Protesters decried it as an example of the dangers of the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown.

The man survived and is being treated at a hospital, the agency said on Thursday. It did not describe exactly what led to the shooting, saying only that “during the incident, an ICE officer discharged his weapon” and that the man was injured.

Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Governor Kathy Hochul said they had received reports the agents fired at the man while he was inside a vehicle with a five-year-old child, who was apparently unhurt.

Mamdani called the shooting “unconscionable and incredibly serious" and said he aimed to tell President Donald Trump to end all federal immigration enforcement actions in the city.

The gunfire erupted around 4pm in Marble Hill, a small part of Manhattan that is attached to the Bronx.

Pedro Almaraz, an employee at a nearby restaurant, said he heard about three or four gunshots and saw a man on the ground surrounded by several officers wearing face masks and vests with Department of Homeland Security branding. Witnesses, he said, were screaming.

Bystander videos and photos posted by on social media showed a man sitting on the ground with his hands behind his back, in the immediate aftermath of the shooting. Another video shows New York City police officers picking up an apparently injured man and carrying him into a police vehicle.

Nearby, a damaged car sat blocking the roadway with small holes in two of its windows.

The videos show agents wearing ICE badges on the scene, including one carrying a rifle. (AP)



Edited by Edmond Fong