2nd suspect detained in shooting of off-duty Border Patrol agent in New York City park
A second suspect in the weekend shooting of an off-duty United States Border Patrol agent in a New York City park has been taken into custody, authorities said on Monday.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said an accomplice of the suspect in the shooting and wounding of the off-duty Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officer was detained over night.
Noem did not initially identify the second person, but said he is also an undocumented migrant as she gave an update on the shooting at a press conference in New York.
The officer, who was shot in the face and arm just before midnight on Saturday, remained hospitalized and is expected to survive after exchanging gunfire with an undocumented migrant with a lengthy criminal record and outstanding arrest warrants. The suspected gunman, 21-year-old Miguel Francisco Mora Nunez, an undocumented migrant from the Dominican Republic, was also shot in the incident and detained after he went to an area hospital for medical treatment.
Both suspects are believed to have entered the U.S. during the Biden administration, according to authorities. Noem, border czar Tom Homan and CBP Commissioner Rodney Scott blamed former President Joe Biden and sanctuary city policies for permitting the men to remain in the country.
Mora Nunez entered the U.S. illegally in 2023 and was released, Noem said. He has an active warrant for armed robbery in Massachusetts, according to officials.
U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Jay Clayton said federal charges are expected in the case.
The shooting unfolded at 11:51 p.m. Saturday in Fort Washington Park in the Washington Heights neighborhood of upper Manhattan, according to the New York Police Department.
The 42-year-old Border Patrol agent was taken to Harlem Hospital, where he is being treated and is expected to make a full recovery, authorities said.
The shooting occurred near the Little Red Lighthouse in Fort Washington Park, which is directly beneath the George Washington Bridge, police said. The attack was captured on security video, which helped police quickly catch the suspect, authorities said.
A witness told police that she and the off-duty agent were sitting together on the rocks near the edge of the Hudson River when the suspected gunman and his accomplice approached them on a scooter, according to a DHS statement released on Sunday.
The security video, posted on social media by the DHS, showed two men on a scooter stop near where the victim and the witness were sitting. In the footage, the passenger is seen getting off the scooter and approaching the victim while the driver stays with the vehicle.
New York City Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said at a news conference Sunday afternoon that the video showed Mora Nunez allegedly drawing a firearm and the Border Patrol agent also pulling out a handgun to defend himself.
"The officer realized that he was being robbed and drew his service weapon in defense," Tisch said.
Tisch alleged that Mora Nunez opened fire first and that there was an exchange of gunfire before the suspect appeared to limp back to his alleged accomplice and the two drove away on the scooter.
Tisch said Mora Nunez walked into a hospital in the Bronx at 12:18 a.m. with gunshot wounds to the groin and the leg that she said was "consistent with the injuries sustained" by the perpetrator in the security video.
The commissioner said it does not appear that the Border Patrol agent was targeted because of his job.
Mora Nunez underwent surgery and is in custody at Lincoln Hospital in the Bronx, Tisch said.
The initial police investigation has determined that the suspect, who DHS said is from the Dominican Republic, entered the country illegally in Arizona from Mexico in 2023, according to Tisch.
Tisch said Mora Nunez has two prior arrests for domestic violence in New York and has an active warrant for missing a court date on one of the cases.
Mora Nunez is also wanted by the NYPD for a robbery in December 2024 and a felony assault stabbing in January 2025. Both of those incidents occurred in the Bronx.
“In less than one year, he has inflicted violence in our city and once he's charged for last night's crimes, we will be able to add attempted murder to his rap sheet,” New York City Mayor Eric Adams said at Sunday's news conference.
The Massachusetts warrant for Mora Nunez alleges he stole guns from a pawn shop in February 2025, Tisch said.
Adams said he visited the wounded Border Patrol agent in the hospital on Sunday.
The New York shooting comes roughly two weeks after a gunman opened fire at the entrance to the Border Patrol sector annex in McAllen, Texas.
The suspect in the July 7 shooting, identified as 27-year-old Ryan Louis Mosqueda, fired "many rounds" at the federal building that houses the U.S. Border Patrol office at the McAllen International Airport, according to McAllen Police Chief Victor Rodriguez.
The suspect was confronted and killed by Border Patrol agents and local police, according to McAllen police and the DHS.
Two police officers and a Border Patrol employee were injured in the attack, according to the DHS.
The motive for the McAllen shooting remains under investigation.
ABC News' Armando Garcia and Jack Date contributed to this report.
