Two Dominican Migrants Charged in Federal Cop Park Shooting
The near-fatal incident occurred in Fort Washington Park when the two illegal aliens on a motorbike, having allegedly already stolen one woman’s phone, tried to rob a man and his girlfriend at gunpoint—not knowing the man was an off-duty but armed federal officer.
Downtown /
| 28 Jul 2025 | 12:49
Armed robbers on a motorbike target man and his girlfriend in Fort Washington Park, July 19, 2025.. Inset: motorbike driver drops his wounded accomplice off at hospital in the Bronx. (
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Two Dominican Republic nationals, in the US illegally, have been charged in connection with the near-deadly shooting of a US Customs and Border Protection officer in Fort Washington Park on Saturday, July 19.
The incident, and the reactions to it, both occurred amid ongoing criticism of President Trump’s deportation policy, especially as it is being effected by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers at 26 Federal Plaza, the 10th floor of which is home to US Immigration Court.
Miguel Francisco Mora Nunez, 21, and Christhian Aybar-Berroa, 22, were arrested in connection with the attack in a park in Inwood.
It appears that it was not a targeted attack: The two suspects came to their present fate by accident while operating as one of New York’s now innumerable motorbike robbery crews. But they chose the wrong victim.
According to the federal complaint against them, their night out for crime began at 11:45pm, when they stole a woman’s cellphone in Fort Washington Park. With Aybar-Berroa driving, Nunez, whom the victim believed had a gun or knife in his waistband, grabbed the phone and sped away.
A few minutes later, about a hundred yards away, the Dominican duo targeted a couple, a man and a woman, sitting near the Hudson River.
Unbeknownst to Aybar-Berroa and Nunez, the man was an off-duty and out-of-uniform federal Customs and Border Patrol officer.
Aybar-Berroa, said to be masked and carrying a weapon, approached the couple and tried to rob them. In the violence that followed, the officer was shot twice, once in the face and once in the arm, while Aybar-Berroa was also wounded in the leg and groin.
With Nunez driving, Aybar-Berroa then fled on the motorbike, with Nunez dropping his wounded accomplice off at BronxCare Health System Hospital, at 1650 Grand Concourse, about 20 minutes later.
At present, Nunez is charged with one count of possession of ammunition by an illegal alien, which carries a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison, and Aybar-Berroa is charged with accessory after the fact, which carries a maximum sentence of seven and a half years in prison, but it is expected these charges will be upgraded.
The complete federal complaint, United States of America vs. Miguel Francisco Mora Nunez, can be read online on the Southern District of New York website.
“As alleged, these defendants entered and spent years in our country illegally, and their criminal activity culminated in Saturday night’s near-deadly attack on one of our own,” said Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Special Agent in Charge Ricky J. Patel on July 24.
“As we continue to hope for the speedy recovery of the CBP officer, we will leave no stone unturned—we owe that much to the law-enforcement community and the American public at-large.”
“Our officer demonstrated extraordinary bravery and professionalism in the face of imminent danger,” said CBP Director Francis J. Russo.
“As alleged, these defendants entered and spent years in our country illegally, and their criminal activity culminated in Saturday night’s near-deadly attack on one of our own.” — said Ricky J. Patel of Homeland Security