Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem on Monday visited the Customs and Border Protection officer who was shot in New York City over the weekend during an attempted robbery involving a previously-deported illegal immigrant, while blaming sanctuary policies for playing a role in the attack.
The off-duty officer was allegedly struck in the face and forearm in Manhattan’s Riverside Park on Saturday night. Miguel Francisco Mora Nunez, a Dominican national who was caught by Border Patrol in April 2023, was taken into custody following the shooting.
“There’s absolutely zero reason that someone who is scum of the earth like this should be running loose on the streets of New York City,” Noem told reporters Monday in reference to Nunez. “He was arrested four different times in New York City, and because of the mayor’s policies and sanctuary city policies, was released back to do harm to people and to individuals living in this city.”
“We were able to bring the second individual in and have detained him as well, and he will face consequences and hopefully strong prosecution for his crimes and his involvement on Saturday night,” she added. Noem identified that suspect as Christhian Aybar-Berroa, an illegal immigrant from the Dominican Republic who “entered the country illegally in 2022 under the Biden Administration and was ordered for final removal in 2023 by an immigration judge.”
OFF-DUTY CBP OFFICER SHOT DURING ATTEMPTED ROBBERY IN NEW YORK CITY: DHS
Noem said that Aybar-Berroa has a criminal record in New York City and that detainers “were ignored” thanks to Mayor Eric Adams’ sanctuary city policies.
“He was arrested for reckless endangerment and larceny and was released before ICE could get him off the streets,” Noem mentioned in a post on X.
Multiple sources within U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement told Fox News that the men involved in the shooting and attempted robbery are believed to be the same men caught on video in an armed robbery of a business in Leominster, Massachusetts, in February.
Sources said in that incident – during which a store owner reportedly was bound with duct tape and held at gunpoint – two firearms were stolen.
In the New York City incident, Homeland Security earlier said “A witness of the attack — believed to be an attempted robbery — states that she and the victim were sitting on the rocks by the water when 2 subjects on a scooter drove up to them and the passenger got off the back and approached them with a firearm drawn. The off-duty CBP officer responded by withdrawing his own firearm in self-defense.”
“The CBP officer was shot in his right arm and left cheek. Thankfully, the officer is in stable condition at the hospital,” it added.
After visiting the officer on Monday, Noem said “I just want you all to know that we have our hearts and our prayers going out with our officer and with his family and his friends, and will be lifting him up in prayer for his quick recovery and his healing from this terrible tragedy that has befallen him.”
“Our officer was off-duty on Saturday evening when him and his friend were attacked. They were attacked by two individuals that were set on robbing them, and thankfully he had his service weapon with him and was able to defend himself and his friend and injured one of those individuals that was trying to do them harm. His quick action speaks to his tenacity and his excellence in training and skill. And because of that, one of the perpetrators was wounded in this interaction and was incarcerated when he came in to get medical treatment,” Noem added.
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“I’m calling on every single mayor and sanctuary city and sanctuary governor to change their policies and to change their tactics right now,” she also said. “Their job is to take an oath to protect the public, to protect families that are out there every single day trying to provide for each other and to try to live the American dream. And they want to do so safely in their own communities. How many more lives will it take? How many more people have to be hurt and victimized before we have public safety? When I look at what Mayor Adams has done to New York City, it breaks my heart to see the families that have suffered because of his policies.”
“We can look across this country at other mayors. We look at Mayor Wu in Boston and what has happened there under her watch, what’s happened in LA with the riots and the violence and the protests that have gone on because of Mayor Bass and what she has perpetuated. When you look at Mayor Johnson in Chicago and how devastating it is to live in that city in some of those poorest communities, how they suffer every single day with the violence that’s in front of them,” Noem said.
Nunez was also injured during the shootout and was shot in the leg and groin. He was dropped off at a hospital in the Bronx, according to authorities.
“Suspect Miguel Francisco Mora Nunez is a national and citizen of the Dominican Republic. RE ENTERED and RELEASED under Biden— on April 4, 2023 the United States Border Patrol apprehended him at/near San Luis, AZ,” Noem wrote on X prior to the hospital visit.
“This criminal has a criminal warrant in Massachusetts for kidnapping and had been charged with a series of offenses,” she added.
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After being apprehended at the Arizona border, Nunez was released into the U.S., though he still has an active deportation order.
“We should not be here today. The reason these two assailants are inside the United States today is because of failed border policies by the Biden administration,” CBP Commissioner Rodney Scott said Monday.
“I visited the officer last night, of course, he was heavily sedated, so I didn’t have words with him,” added White House border czar Tom Homan. “But I did talk to his family. They’re devastated. It’s just — it’s just a shock to the soul when you walk in and see that young man laying there.”
“Sanctuary cities are sanctuaries for criminals. President Trump is not going to tolerate it,” Homan warned.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams described Nunez as a “21-year-old male has prior arrests for assault and violating an order protection.”
At the time of this shooting, he had an active bench warrant from the Bronx, was wanted for a robbery from last December, and [a] stabbing from January,” Adams also said. “He has inflicted violence in our city and once he is charged for last night’s crimes, we will be able to add attempted murder to his rap sheet,” the mayor added.
President Donald Trump weighed in on the shooting Sunday afternoon, writing that “an incredible CBP Officer was shot in the face by an Illegal Alien Monster freed into the Country under Joe Biden.”
“The CBP Officer bravely fought off his attacker, despite his wounds, demonstrating enormous Skill and Courage,” Trump wrote.
Fox News’ Bill Melugin and Andrea Margolis contributed to this report.
