Two men from the Dominican Republic who committed a litany of crimes after entering the United States illegally have been charged in connection with the shooting of an off-duty Customs and Border Patrol officer in upper Manhattan, federal authorities announced on Thursday.
Miguel Francisco Mora Nunez, 21, and Christian Aybar-Berroa, 22, are facing federal charges related to possession of ammunition by an illegal alien, Homeland Security officials said.
It wasn’t immediately clear why attempted murder and assault were not also charged.
“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,” Ricky Patel, Homeland Security Investigations New York special agent in charge, said in a statement revealing the charges.
On July 19, the off-duty CBP officer was sitting with a woman on a rock near the waterfront in Fort Washington Park by W. 178th St. when two men pulled up on a moped and attempted to rob him around 11:50 p.m., cops said.
Surveillance video appears to show a man in a white shirt — later identified by cops as Mora Nunez — get off the moped and approach them from behind, gun in hand. After a brief fight, Mora Nunez fires a shot, hitting the officer in the face, and appears to duck out of view by a bush while the officer aims his own weapon.
Cops said the officer returned fire, striking Mora Nunez, who later was dropped off by moped by his accomplice at a nearby hospital with gunshot wounds to his leg and groin, police sources said.
Medics took the 42-year-old officer to Harlem Hospital in stable condition.
Mora Nunez, who was born in the Dominican Republic, entered the country illegally through Arizona in 2023, authorities said. He has two prior arrests for domestic violence in New York and was also wanted to face accusations of robbery and felony assault. He was also wanted in Massachusetts for a stolen weapons case, NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said.
Aybar-Berroa also entered the country illegally from the Dominican Republic. Like his alleged accomplice, he has an extensive criminal record and is wanted in a string of robberies, according to the NYPD.
Mora Nunez faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted. Aybar-Berroa faces seven and a half years.
On Thursday President Trump filed a federal lawsuit against New York City and Mayor Adams seeking to end sanctuary city law policies, citing the shooting in Fort Washington Park as evidence of “a surge of violent crime” perpetrated by illegal immigrants.
Despite Trump’s claims, major crimes are, in fact, down across the board in the city this year, with 2025 so far seeing a 26% drop in murders, a 22% drop in shootings, a 12% drop in robberies and a 1% drop in serious assaults.
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