Darializa Avila Chevalier says agents in a targeted arrest "would have known" the man was a father

Darializa Avila ChevalierDemocratic nominee for U.S. House in New York's 13th district, who went to the scene, speaking to New York Magazine

Darializa Avila Chevalier, the Democratic nominee for Congress in New York's 13th district, told New York Magazine that if the shooting followed a targeted arrest, the agents would have known who they were arresting, that he was a father, where he was going and who might be with him, and that he would be driving through a busy public space. She said this shows that "these people" are cruel and do not care about the impact on the community. New York Magazine reported she was answering DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin's claim that officers did not know a child was in the car.

“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.”

Reporting

Open source (opens in a new tab)What Darializa Avila Chevalier Saw at the NYC ICE Shooting (New York Magazine)Paragraph beginning 'As for Mullin, Avila Chevalier', in which she is quoted on the claim that officers did not know a child was in the car.
An NYPD officer stands near vehicles and bystanders at the Marble Hill shooting scene.
Credit: New York City Police Department body-worn camera footage

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.

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Source and context

Reporting

What Darializa Avila Chevalier Saw at the NYC ICE Shooting (New York Magazine) (opens in a new tab)Paragraph beginning 'As for Mullin, Avila Chevalier', in which she is quoted on the claim that officers did not know a child was in the car.

About this source

New York Magazine Intelligencer interview of October 9, 2026 with the Democratic nominee for New York's 13th district, who went to the scene of the shooting.

Before the quotation

At a Friday press conference, Mullin said the officers did not know a child was in the car and that calls to abolish ICE incite hostility.

After the quotation

New York Magazine next reported that a federal judge in Manhattan ordered immigration officials not to deport the man while his lawyers pursue an emergency habeas corpus petition.

How this statement is classified

Condemned

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. Avila Chevalier answers the claim that the officers did not know a child was in the car by saying a targeted arrest means they would have known he was a father and who might be with him, and says these people are cruel and do not care about the community, which rejects the shooting as unjustified, so we labeled it Condemned. The closest competing label is Challenged the characterization, because she disputes DHS's account of what the officers knew; she also states a verdict on the agents' conduct, so it loses.

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More from this case

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The 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.”
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DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin says agents "identified ourselves and gave lawful orders" and that ICE will not pause enforcement

Markwayne Mullin

“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.”
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Cite this record

Publisher
The Dispute Index
Title
Darializa Avila Chevalier says agents in a targeted arrest "would have known" the man was a father
First published
Last updated
Permalink
https://disputeindex.com/events/5384-darializa-avila-chevalier-the-democratic-nominee-for-congress

Last updated marks the most recent saved version of this published statement.

The Dispute Index. "Darializa Avila Chevalier says agents in a targeted arrest "would have known" the man was a father". First published: 2026-10-10. Last updated: 2026-10-10. https://disputeindex.com/events/5384-darializa-avila-chevalier-the-democratic-nominee-for-congress