By Steve Neavling
An off-duty CBP agent was shot in the face and arm during an attempted robbery in New York City’s Riverside Park late Saturday, police said.
The agent was sitting by the water in Manhattan when two men approached on a scooter, and one pulled a gun, NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said at a Sunday news conference, NBC News reports. The agent drew his own weapon and returned fire after being shot. The gunman and his accomplice fled.
The encounter appeared to be a random robbery and unrelated to the agent’s job, according to two law enforcement sources cited by NBC News.
Police identified 21-year-old Miguel Mora as a person of interest. He showed up at a Bronx hospital with gunshot wounds to the groin and leg, which Tisch said matched injuries seen on surveillance video of the shooting. Mora was in custody and expected to be charged with attempted murder.
Mayor Eric Adams said Mora has a violent history and “in less than one year, he has inflicted violence in our city.”
Mora, originally from the Dominican Republic, entered the U.S. illegally through Arizona in 2023, officials said. He has two prior arrests for domestic violence and was wanted in connection with a robbery and a stabbing.
President Donald Trump called Mora an “Illegal Alien Monster” on Truth Social, blaming Democrats for letting “Criminal Invaders” into the country. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem confirmed Mora’s nationality on X.
While Trump has used such cases to push immigration crackdowns, research shows undocumented immigrants commit fewer crimes than U.S.-born citizens. ICE data also shows that most people in immigration custody have no criminal record.
