ICE official Marcos Charles says the driver "weaponized his vehicle" before officers fired
Marcos CharlesICE Executive Associate Director for Enforcement and Removal Operations, at a DHS press conference in Washington
Marcos Charles, ICE's Executive Associate Director for Enforcement and Removal Operations, said at a DHS press conference that the man refused lawful orders to exit his vehicle, accelerated and smashed into two ICE vehicles, then weaponized his vehicle by accelerating toward other officers. He said the officers, believing their lives and the lives of their partners and the public were in danger, used their training and fired their weapons, and that the man was struck superficially in the neck.
“He then accelerated his vehicle, smashing into two of our government ICE vehicles, and then weaponized his vehicle and proceeded to accelerate going towards other officers. Our officers, using their training and believing that their life and the life of the partners in general public were in danger, used their training and fired weapons.”
Original post

Where this statement fits
Was ICE justified in shooting a man in a car in Marble Hill?
On October 8, 2026, an ICE officer shot a man in a car near Marble Hill Avenue and West 225th Street in Marble Hill, a neighborhood the NYPD placed in the Bronx and ABC News and The Intercept placed in upper Manhattan. DHS said ICE officers were conducting a targeted operation in the Bronx to arrest a man from the Dominican Republic with a prior grand larceny conviction and multiple prior arrests, and that an officer discharged his weapon during the incident. Mayor Zohran Mamdani said early reports indicated agents surrounded the man and his 5-year-old child in the car before firing multiple rounds. The NYPD said it was not involved and that the man was conscious at a hospital. NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch later said evidence at the scene indicates at least one ICE agent discharged seven rounds, striking the driver in the neck. At a press conference on October 9, ICE's Marcos Charles said the man accelerated into two ICE vehicles and toward other officers, and DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin said the agents feared for their lives. A federal judge later barred ICE from removing the man from the country or moving him outside New York and New Jersey while his habeas corpus petition proceeds.
Source and context
Original post
About this source
DHS's own live broadcast of its October 9, 2026 press conference with Secretary Markwayne Mullin and ICE officials, at which they discussed the Marble Hill shooting and sanctuary policies.
Before the quotation
Charles spoke after DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin opened the press conference by criticizing sanctuary policies. NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch had said Thursday night that police cameras did not capture the shooting.
After the quotation
Mullin later said the officers gave lawful orders as they approached the car and that body camera footage exists and will be released as the investigation moves forward.
How this statement is classified
The label describes this statement's response within the context above.
Why this label?
The reference point is whether the ICE officer was justified in shooting the man in the car. Charles says the man accelerated into two ICE vehicles and toward other officers and that the officers fired believing lives were in danger, which defends the shooting as justified, so we labeled it Defended or excused. The closest competing label is Challenged the characterization, which would fit a dispute with critics' description of the shooting; he gives a substantive justification for the shots, so it loses.
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More from this case
Read the full caseThe Legal Aid Society says the Marble Hill shooting raises "grave concerns about the reckless endangerment of children and families"
The Legal Aid Society
“Mr. Belgal's five-year-old child was in the vehicle when ICE fired on it, raising grave concerns about the reckless endangerment of children and families during immigration enforcement operations. ... We call for a full and transparent investigation into the shooting of Mr. Belgal, accountability for those responsible, and an end to federal immigration enforcement tactics that put the safety and well-being of New Yorkers at risk.”Read statement
DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin says agents "identified ourselves and gave lawful orders" and that ICE will not pause enforcement
“We identified ourselves and gave lawful orders as we approached the vehicle. There was no question who was approaching the vehicle. ... When you flee, especially for a criminal like him, he knows that officers aren't going to give up on him ... We're not putting a pause on enforcement ... In fact, I'm not sorry. Our job is to enforce the nation's laws and go after the worst of the worst, and our men and women do a dang good job at it every single day, and we will not stop doing our job.”Read statement
Darializa Avila Chevalier says agents in a targeted arrest "would have known" the man was a father
“If this was a targeted arrest, then they would have known who they were arresting ... They would have known that he was a father; they would have known where he was going and who might be with him. They would have known that, at the time he was driving there, it would be a very public space. It would have been a time of people passing by who are coming from home and school. It just shows that these people are not only cruel, they're also idiots. They're idiots who do not care what the impact is on our community.”Read statement
Cite this record
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- The Dispute Index
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- ICE official Marcos Charles says the driver "weaponized his vehicle" before officers fired
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- https://disputeindex.com/events/5286-marcos-charles-ice-s-executive-associate-director-for
Last updated marks the most recent saved version of this published statement.
The Dispute Index. "ICE official Marcos Charles says the driver "weaponized his vehicle" before officers fired". First published: 2026-10-09. Last updated: 2026-10-09. https://disputeindex.com/events/5286-marcos-charles-ice-s-executive-associate-director-for