Eli Steele says "The investigations will decide whether the shooting was lawful"
Eli SteeleFilmmaker, in a Fox News opinion column
In a Fox News opinion column, filmmaker Eli Steele argued that activists turned the man into a symbol by dismissing his criminal record, and said investigators and the courts should judge both the officer who fired and the man.
“The investigations will decide whether the shooting was lawful, and due process, which protects all individuals within this country, including those who are not citizens. ... So let the courts judge the officer who fired, and let them judge Oscar Belgal too.”
Analysis

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
Analysis
About this source
Opinion column by filmmaker Eli Steele on the reaction to the Marble Hill shooting.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Before the quotation
Steele described the man's criminal record as reported by the police commissioner and federal officials, criticized Darializa Avila Chevalier for saying it did not matter, and quoted the man's lawyer saying it is not lawful to shoot a father regardless of criminal history.
After the quotation
He argued that activists keep the man a symbol of oppression by stripping him of responsibility for his choices.
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. Steele says "The investigations will decide whether the shooting was lawful" and asks the courts to "judge the officer who fired", leaving that question to investigators instead of answering it, so we labeled it Explicitly stayed out. The closest competing label is Challenged characterization, since most of the column disputes how activists portrayed the man; it loses because on the shooting itself he defers to the investigations.
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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. "Eli Steele says "The investigations will decide whether the shooting was lawful"". First published: 2026-10-13. Last updated: 2026-10-13. https://disputeindex.com/events/5665-in-a-fox-news-opinion-column-filmmaker-eli