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Two illegal immigrants were charged in the shooting of an off-duty U.S. Customs and Border Patrol officer in New York City, authorities announced on Thursday.
Miguel Francisco Mora Nunez and Cristian Aybar Berroa — both from the Dominican Republic — were arrested after the shooting at Fort Washington Park on Saturday.
Mora Nunez, 21, was 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, 22, was charged with accessory after the fact, which carries a maximum sentence of seven and a half years in prison, according to Interim U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Jay Clayton and Homeland Security Investigations Special Agent in Charge of the New York Field Office Ricky J. Patel.
“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,” Patel said in a statement.
SECOND SUSPECT ARRESTED IN CBP OFFICER SHOOTING HAS LENGTHY CRIMINAL PAST, DHS SAYS
Mora Nunez allegedly opened fire on an off-duty CBP officer in Fort Washington Park in Manhattan, striking the officer in the face and right arm. The officer returned fire, hitting Mora Nunez before he fled on a motorbike driven by Aybar-Berroa, who transported the alleged gunman to a hospital.
Aybar-Berroa later allegedly attempted to get rid of the clothing he was wearing during the shooting because it was bloody. He also spoke to one of Mora Nunez’s family members about needing to get rid of the suspected shooter’s bloody clothes.
Both suspects entered the U.S. illegally and are subject to orders of removal from the U.S., officials said.
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Multiple sources within U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement previously told Fox News that the pair are believed to be the same men caught on video in an armed robbery of a business in Leominster, Massachusetts, in February.
Aybar-Berroa also has a criminal history in New York City that includes arrests for second-degree reckless endangerment in May 2023 and fourth-degree felony grand larceny and petit larceny in March and April 2024, officials said.
The Department of Homeland Security said that after the April 2024 arrest and “despite an active ICE detainer, the New York City Department of Corrections released Berroa back onto NYC streets.”
He was also arrested by the New York City Police Department in February of this year for second-degree reckless endangerment, reckless driving and for driving without a license, according to DHS.
“On June 12, 2025, Berroa pled guilty to petit larceny at the Bronx County Supreme Court. This plea was made in consolidation of all his previous arrests, and he was conditionally discharged and allowed to roam the streets of NYC,” DHS previously said. “A judge ordered Berroa a final order of removal on January 3, 2023.”
“He was arrested eight times between March and April 2024 for grand larcenies and robberies involving a scooter in the Bronx,” NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said on Monday. “He’s also a suspect in at least four additional cases. He entered this country illegally through Texas in 2022.”
Fox News’ Greg Norman contributed to this report.
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