Off-duty border patrol agent shot in a Manhattan park in apparent botched robbery, police say

The lower Manhattan skyline is seen from Little Island park, Friday, Nov. 22, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

NEW YORK — An off-duty U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer was shot in a Manhattan park on Saturday following an apparent robbery gone wrong, New York City police and federal officials say.

The 42-year-old officer was in stable condition Sunday and expected to survive. A spokesperson for the NYPD said there was no indication that the shooting was politically motivated.

The agent, who was not in uniform, was sitting in a park beneath the George Washington Bridge when he was approached by a man riding on the back of a moped, who then shot him in the face and arm, police said. The off-duty officer returned fire as the moped driver and alleged shooter rode off.

No arrests had been made as of Sunday afternoon, according to a police spokesperson.

The Department of Homeland Security shared video online of the two men on a moped, alleging the shooter was caught entering the country illegally in 2023, but released.

The NYPD spokesperson said they had no information about the source of that claim.

In a social media post Sunday afternoon, U.S. President Donald Trump seized on the shooting as evidence of Democrats’ failures to secure the border.

“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 President Donald Trump’s mass deportation agenda.

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.

The Associated Press