New York City man shot by ICE agents with child in car

NEW YORK: US immigration agents shot and wounded a man on Thursday while he was in his car with a child in the Marble Hill neighbourhood of New York City, according to the mayor, city police and eyewitnesses.

"Early reports indicate agents surrounded (the man) and a 5-year-old child in his car before firing multiple rounds," New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani said in a statement.

The mayor said the child was believed to have been physically unharmed.

"This is an unconscionable and incredibly serious situation," Mamdani said, adding that he planned to speak to President Donald Trump and "demand that he ends all ICE enforcement actions in our city. I will not stand by while ICE agents terrorise our communities."

The Department of Homeland Security, ICE's parent agency, said in a statement that ICE officers were conducting a "targeted enforcement operation" in the Bronx, New York, to arrest a man from the Dominican Republic with a prior criminal conviction.

"During the incident, an ICE officer discharged his weapon and the criminal illegal alien was injured," DHS said, adding that ICE officers rendered immediate aid. "The individual is alive and at a local hospital."

The shooting occurred at around 4pm ET (2000 GMT), DHS said.

Pedro Almarez, who works at a restaurant near the scene, said he heard shots fired and went outside to see several officers wearing ICE attire.

"There were a lot of ICE officers, three or four cars," Almarez told Reuters by phone, adding that the man who was shot appeared to be between 20 and 30 years old.

He said NYPD officers arrived about 10 minutes later. The man was only removed from his car after an ambulance arrived, he said.

At the scene, where police strung yellow crime-scene tape to cordon off a city block, a woman standing on a balcony overlooking the area told officers they were "taking our children", according to a Reuters witness.

Federal immigration agents have shot at least 21 people since Republican President Donald Trump returned to office, seven fatally, sparking protests across the US.

Critics contend that Trump's push to ramp up deportations has led to an increasing number of violent confrontations and accuse the administration of resisting accountability for the agents involved.