'ICE Is Rotten to Its Core': Mamdani Says Calls With Trump Failed to Release Man Shot in the Bronx

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said lengthy calls with President Donald Trump and Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin failed to secure the release of a man shot by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent in a shooting in the Bronx on Thursday, 8 October. Mamdani accused ICE of being 'rotten to its core' after the reported shooting near West 225th Street and Marble Hill Avenue, where a five-year-old child was reportedly inside the vehicle.

The reported incident has highlighted a sharp divide between city and federal officials over immigration enforcement, the use of force and what happened before the shooting. Mamdani said the discussions lasted two hours, but that federal agents removed the man before his late-night press conference began at approximately 11.20pm.

Zohran Mamdani Condemns ICE After Bronx Shooting

Speaking after the incident, Mamdani described the shooting as 'an outrage'. He said it occurred shortly after school had let out, when children and families were in the area, and said the child in the vehicle was not injured.

'We know that ICE is rotten to its core,' Mamdani said. He also described the situation as 'an unconscionable and incredibly serious situation'.

Mamdani said ICE agents had 'put the man in an unmarked vehicle and whisked him away' before he addressed reporters. He added that he intended to urge Trump to halt all ICE operations across New York City.

His response went beyond criticism of the individual operation. Mamdani ended a social media post with the words 'Abolish ICE', signalling opposition to the federal agency itself.

The disagreement also reached Albany. New York Governor Kathy Hochul said residents deserved to know exactly what had happened and why.

DHS and NYPD Accounts Raise Questions About the ICE Shooting

Federal officials have offered a different account of the events leading to the shooting. According to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the operation targeted a man from the Dominican Republic who had previously been convicted of grand larceny and had been arrested before.

DHS alleged that the man drove his vehicle into two government vehicles and towards officers. That account sets out the federal government's stated justification for the encounter, but the available reporting does not establish whether the use of force complied with applicable policy.

New York Police Department Commissioner Jessica Tisch said at least one ICE agent fired seven rounds, hitting the man in the neck.

Tisch also described police camera footage showing a vehicle reversing into a parking space. A plainclothes officer approached the driver's window with a weapon drawn, and the vehicle then moved forward and out of view, according to her account.

When NYPD officers arrived, they encountered several men wearing construction-style vests and face masks, as well as the injured man handcuffed on the ground. The department said its officers were not involved in the shooting.

The NYPD said the man was arrested in 2023 and pleaded guilty to fourth-degree grand larceny, receiving probation. The department also said he faces a pending drug sale charge dating from 2025.

He was taken to NewYork-Presbyterian Allen Hospital in stable condition, according to officials. The circumstances surrounding his later removal by ICE have become another point of contention between city and federal officials.

Donald Trump and Mullin Push Back Against Mamdani

Mullin disputed Mamdani's characterisation of the agency and the handling of the case. He said Trump had offered to transfer the man to NYPD custody, and claimed that Mamdani wanted federal agents to 'walk away'.

Responding to Mamdani's criticism, Mullin said ICE officers were enforcing laws that Mamdani refused to enforce. The competing statements leave a central question unresolved in the available reporting, namely whether the agent's use of a firearm was justified by the circumstances.

The confrontation drew a crowd outside the hospital. About 300 people gathered on Thursday night, and the NYPD said that at least five people were detained early on Friday.

A past analysis by CNN reported that at least 21 people were shot in incidents involving ICE and Customs and Border Protection personnel over a defined period. The figure concerned shootings involving both agencies, rather than ICE alone.

Federal policy also sets limits on firing at moving vehicles. Department of Homeland Security guidance prohibits officers from shooting at a vehicle's driver unless the circumstances meet the agency's standards for deadly force.

Whether those standards were met in the Bronx incident remains a crucial question. The accounts from DHS, the NYPD and Mamdani provide competing descriptions of the encounter, but they do not, by themselves, settle the justification for the shooting.