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The second illegal immigrant suspect arrested Monday in the shooting of an off-duty U.S. Customs and Border Protection Officer in New York City over the weekend has a lengthy criminal background, officials said.
Cristian Aybar Berroa of the Dominican Republic “illegally entered the United States on June 19, 2022, and was released into the country on interim parole pending his immigration hearing,” according to the Department of Homeland Security.
He then allegedly committed a litany of crimes in New York City, including arrests for 2nd degree reckless endangerment in May 2023 and 4th degree felony grand larceny and petit larceny in March and April 2024, officials said.
Following the April 2024 arrest, “Despite an active ICE detainer, the New York City Department of Corrections released Berroa back onto NYC streets,” Homeland Security said.
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Berroa was then arrested by the New York City Police Department in February 2025 for 2nd degree reckless endangerment, reckless driving and for driving without a license, the DHS continued.
“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,” it also said. “A judge ordered Berroa a final order of removal on January 3, 2023.”
He and Miguel Francisco Mora Nunez are now expected to face federal charges in connection to the shooting at New York City’s Fort Washington Park late Saturday, Interim U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Jay Clayton announced Monday.
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Officials believe the shooting happened during an attempted robbery.
“A witness of the attack stated that she and the victim were sitting on the rocks by the water when two subjects on a scooter drove up to them, dismounted the scooter and approached them with a firearm drawn. The off-duty CBP officer responded by withdrawing his own firearm in self defense. The CBP officer was shot in his right arm and left cheek. Thankfully, the officer is in stable condition at the hospital,” Homeland Security said.
NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said Monday that Berroa was the scooter driver in the incident.
“He was arrested eight times between March and April 2024 for grand larcenies and robberies involving a scooter in the Bronx,” she said. “He’s also a suspect in at least four additional cases. He entered this country illegally through Texas in 2022.”
Multiple sources within U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement told Fox News that the men involved in the shooting are believed to be the same men caught on video in an armed robbery of a business in Leominster, Massachusetts, in February.
Sources said in that incident – during which a store owner reportedly was bound with duct tape and held at gunpoint – two firearms were stolen.
Fox News’ Bill Melugin contributed to this report.
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