Illegal alien eyed in shooting of border patrol agent in NY
NEW YORK—An off-duty US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officer was shot in a Manhattan park on Saturday following an apparent robbery gone wrong, New York City police and federal officials said.
New York City Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch identified a person of interest as Miguel Mora, 21, who illegally entered the United States in 2023 through Arizona and has a string of prior arrests and warrants for his arrest.
Tisch said there was still no information that the 42-year-old CBP officer was targeted because of his job.
The officer, who was not in uniform, had been sitting with a woman in a park beneath the George Washington Bridge when two men approached on a moped just before midnight. The passenger got off and approached the officer, who realized he was being robbed and drew his service weapon, Tisch said.
Shot in the face
The two exchanged gunfire and the off-duty officer was shot in the face and arm. The perpetrator was injured as indicted by CCTV video at the park but managed to drive off on the moped with his accomplice, police said.
Mora was taken into custody after arriving at a Bronx hospital with gunshot wounds to the groin and leg, Tisch said. It was unknown if Mora had an attorney.
The police commissioner said Mora’s injuries were consistent with what was seen on surveillance video of the shooting shared by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
The search for his alleged accomplice continued on Sunday.
According to Fox News, the DHS gave Mora’s full name as Miguel Francisco Mora Nunez, a Dominican national.
Deportation order
Fox News added that when Mora was apprehended by CBP agents at the Arizona border, he was released into the United States despite him having an active deportation order.
Tisch said Mora had two prior arrests for domestic violence in New York where he was also wanted for robbery and felony assault. He also has a warrant in Massachusetts over a stolen weapons case.
In a social media post Sunday afternoon, President Donald Trump seized on the shooting as evidence of Democrats’ failures to secure the border.
“An incredible CBP Officer was shot in the face by an Illegal Alien Monster freed into the Country under Joe Biden,” Fox quoted the president’s post on Truth Social.
“The CBP Officer bravely fought off his attacker, despite his wounds, demonstrating enormous Skill and Courage,” Trump added.
The shooting comes as federal officials warn of a surge of attacks on agents carrying out Trump’s mass deportation agenda.
It also occurred as Democrats demand that federal agents enforcing anti-illegal immigration operations not wear masks to hide their identities.
As enforcement efforts have ramped up in recent months, many officers have chosen to cover their faces with the goal of avoiding harassment in public and online.
On Sunday, the acting director of U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement, Todd Lyons, said he would allow agents to continue covering their faces as a safety measure.
“If that’s a tool that the men and women of ICE that keeps themselves and their families safe, then I will allow it,” Lyons said. —WITH REPORTS FROM AP
