Zohran Mamdani says ICE agents in construction vests with long guns looked almost like a mass shooter
Zohran MamdaniMayor of New York City, in an interview on MS NOW
Mayor Zohran Mamdani told MS NOW that a federal agency shot at a moving vehicle in broad daylight while its agents wore construction vests and used long guns, leaving New Yorkers in terror, and that it felt like almost looking at a mass shooter rather than someone representing a federal agency.
“We are talking about a federal agency that shot at a moving vehicle in broad daylight while its agents were wearing construction vests, using long guns, and left New Yorkers in terror ... It feels as if you're almost looking at a mass shooter as opposed to seeing someone who's purportedly representing a federal agency”
Reporting
Reporting

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
Reporting
About this source
Gothamist report of October 11, 2026 on Mamdani's MS NOW interview about the Marble Hill shooting.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Reporting
About this source
CBS News New York report of October 11, 2026 on Mamdani's MS NOW interview.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Before the quotation
Mamdani spoke on Sunday morning, in an interview with MS NOW.
After the quotation
Mamdani said President Donald Trump and DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin had asked him to have the NYPD detain Belgal, that he asked on what warrant, and that he and Commissioner Jessica Tisch would review the 24 hours starting with the shooting.
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. Mamdani says the agency "shot at a moving vehicle in broad daylight" and "left New Yorkers in terror", and that the scene looked almost like "a mass shooter", which rejects the shooting and the agents' conduct as unjustified, so we labeled it Condemned. The closest competing label is Challenged characterization, because he also disputes how the agents presented themselves; it loses because he condemns the shooting and the agents' conduct itself.
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More from this case
Read the full caseHochul, at the governor debate, says of the shooting "That's not how you conduct yourself. ICE is out of control."
“he'd be fine if ICE agents shoot into cars, shoot guns into vehicles not knowing who's inside, and could have killed a five-year-old child ... That's not how you conduct yourself. ICE is out of control.”Read statement
Blakeman, asked at the governor debate about ICE's tactics, says the shooting "never would have happened but for your sanctuary policy"
“the question that New Yorkers have to ask is what was this guy doing in New York in the first place? It's because Kathy Hochul has made us a sanctuary state. ... Kathy Hochul has taken that ability away from us. That's why things like this happen. ... it never would have happened but for your sanctuary policy.”Read statement
Former ICE official Scott Mechkowski says whether the man was "using his car as a weapon" decides the case
“A vehicle driven at an officer is a deadly weapon, and I taught officers to treat it that way. ... DHS hasn’t yet said what that officer saw in that moment. That question decides this case: was the man behind the wheel using his car as a weapon against an officer? The footage will answer it.”Read statement
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The Dispute Index. "Zohran Mamdani says ICE agents in construction vests with long guns looked almost like a mass shooter". First published: 2026-10-12. Last updated: 2026-10-12. https://disputeindex.com/events/5587-mayor-zohran-mamdani-told-ms-now-that-a