A man suspected of shooting two New York police officers on Monday has been identified as Bernardo Raul Castro Mata, 19, a Venezuelan national who was residing in the country illegally.

The two officers survived the shooting, but the incident has raised concerns about the impact of the border crisis on New York City and other areas of the country. During a Monday press briefing, Mayor Eric Adams and members of NYPD’s leadership discussed the shooting.

Adams began by declaring that the authorities “removed over 15,000 illegal guns off our streets in the hands of dangerous people” and lauded police for “putting their lives on the line every day.”

Police Commissioner Edward Caban described what happened:

“Approximately 1:40 A.M., uniformed officers assigned to the 115th precinct public safety team were working to address a robbery pattern in the area involving perpetrators on mopeds and scooters. They observed a male suspect drive a moped the wrong way on 82nd Street near 23rd Avenue and attempted to pull him over.

The suspect then fled on foot and our officers began a foot pursuit which led for several blocks. During the pursuit, the suspect fired multiple rounds at our officers who then returned fire. One officer was shot in the front of his bullet resistant vest. The other officer was shot in his leg. Both of our cops were taken to Elmhurst Hospital where they are being treated.

Thankfully, they are both in stable condition. The suspect was also shot in the right ankle and he was removed to New York Presbyterian Queens by EMS also in stable condition. A firearm was recovered at the scene. We visited the officers and their families a few moments ago. They’re in good spirits and the NYPD stands at the ready to assist them in the full recovery.”

NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny explained that the alleged shooter did not have any prior arrests in the city. “However, he is a suspect in several robbery patterns currently going on in the borough of Queens,” Kenny said. During the incident, the suspect “was observed illegally operating an unregistered motorbike the wrong way down a one-way street.”

The chief explained that the bikes “are being used citywide to commit crimes,” including “shootings, robberies, and phone snatches.”

A reporter asked whether the shelter where Castro Mata was residing was dedicated to housing homeless people or illegal immigrants and asylum seekers. Chief Kenny indicated that the residence “is currently being used as a migrant shelter, and the gun itself is not legally possessed.”

The chief said the suspect entered the U.S. in 2023:

“What we know is that the shooter here, he entered the country from Venezuela. He entered through Eagle Pass, Texas, back in July of 2023. We know that he entered the country illegally. The patterns that we’re looking at currently in Queens that he’s involved with involve phone snatches and instances where a woman was attacked, her credit card was stolen, and eventually used in a Queens smoke shop.”

This development comes as New York City lawmakers are considering a measure that would revoke the city’s sanctuary status, which protects illegal immigrants from deportation.

A duo of New York City Council members is reaching across the aisle to introduce a bill to end the sanctuary policies enacted under former Mayor Bill de Blasio.

Council members Robert Holden, a Democrat, and Joe Borelli, a Republican, plan to introduce legislation Thursday that would roll back the de Blasio-era policies and make it easier for the city’s law enforcement to cooperate with federal immigration authorities, according to a report from the New York Post.

“Sanctuary city laws put all New Yorkers, both immigrants and longtime residents, in danger by preventing the NYPD and DOC from working with ICE,” Holden told the New York Post. “We do not need to import criminals, and only 23 years since 9/11, we have forgotten the deadly consequences of poor interagency communication. We must repeal these laws immediately.”

If passed, the bill would remove restrictions prohibiting the NYPD from cooperating with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in detaining and deporting those found to have entered the country illegally. It would also rescind prohibitions on local law enforcement collaborating with ICE on violations of federal immigration law.

In February, Adams seemed to support adjustments to the sanctuary policy. During a town hall in Brooklyn, he noted that while “The overwhelming number of migrants and asylum seekers … want to work,” there are “small numbers that are committing crimes.’

The mayor asserted that the city must “modify the sanctuary city law that if you commit a felony, a violent act, we should be able to turn you over to ICE and have you deported.”