Photo: CHARLY TRIBALLEAU / AFP / Getty Images
Oscar Belgal, the 28-year-old man shot by a federal immigration agent in New York City with his 5-year-old son in the car, remains in custody with a bullet lodged in his neck and is awaiting surgery, according to his attorneys.
In a joint statement released Sunday (October 11), the Legal Aid Society and Make the Road New York raised concerns about Belgal's treatment at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, alleging he has been denied adequate medical care and basic necessities since the shooting.
Belgal's attorneys say the left side of his face is numb, he can barely hear out of his left ear and he suffered an additional shoulder injury from shattered glass. According to the statement, doctors told Belgal he urgently needed surgery but determined the procedure was too dangerous to perform the night of the shooting without a specialized surgeon.
Although he was instructed to return to the hospital for treatment, his attorneys say he has received no confirmation about when the procedure will take place.
"Mr. Belgal is living through an unimaginable nightmare," the organizations said in their statement, per News 12.
His legal team also alleges he has been held in solitary confinement, has not eaten a meal since the shooting and has been told to drink water from a bathroom sink.
The allegations about his detention conditions have not been independently verified. News 12 reported that it contacted the detention center for comment but had not received a response as of Sunday evening.
Belgal was shot Thursday (October 8) during an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operation in Manhattan's Marble Hill neighborhood, near the Bronx.
According to The Associated Press, plainclothes federal agents approached Belgal's vehicle as he was pulling into a parking space. When he began driving forward, an agent fired seven rounds, striking him below his left ear, NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said.
Belgal's 5-year-old son was sitting in the backseat during the shooting but was not physically injured.
NYPD officers, who were not involved in the federal operation, responded to the scene and transported Belgal to a nearby hospital. He was later taken into ICE custody at Delaney Hall in Newark, New Jersey, before being transferred to the Brooklyn detention center on Friday (October 9), per News 12.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said agents were targeting Belgal because they believed he had direct or indirect knowledge of the July 2025 shooting of an off-duty Customs and Border Protection officer in Manhattan.
Federal officials have alleged Belgal has ties to the Trinitarios gang, which DHS linked to that shooting. Authorities have not accused Belgal of carrying out the attack.
DHS has also cited Belgal's criminal history in defending the operation. Tisch said Belgal pleaded guilty to grand larceny in 2023 and was serving five years' probation when the shooting occurred. He has also pleaded not guilty in a pending drug sale case.
Federal officials have claimed Belgal drove toward agents and struck ICE vehicles during the encounter. However, Reuters reported that it could not independently verify that account.
Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said agents were unaware a child was inside the vehicle when they opened fire. He maintained that Belgal's actions endangered the boy.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani has condemned the shooting and called for ICE to end its operations in the city, questioning how residents could identify the plainclothes agents as federal law enforcement officers.
The Bronx District Attorney's Office has opened an investigation into the shooting. Federal authorities, including the FBI and Homeland Security Investigations, were also involved in the response to the incident.
Meanwhile, a federal judge temporarily blocked Belgal's deportation Friday (October 9) as his legal case proceeds.
His attorneys are demanding his release from detention and access to medical treatment, arguing that his injuries and reported conditions in custody require immediate attention.
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