NEW YORK — Authorities have arrested a second suspect in connection with the shooting of an off-duty U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer at a Manhattan park this past weekend.
Christhian Aybar-Berroa, 28, is accused of serving as the getaway driver in the robbery attempt that turned violent Saturday near the George Washington Bridge. Aybar-Berroa was taken into custody Monday and is expected to appear in federal court in Manhattan.
His accomplice, Miguel Mora, was apprehended Sunday after arriving at a Bronx hospital with gunshot wounds to his groin and leg.
The 42-year-old customs officer, who was off-duty and not in uniform, was sitting in the park with a woman when two men approached on a moped. According to police, when the officer realized he was being robbed, he drew his service weapon. A shootout ensued, during which the officer was shot in the face and arm. The suspects fled the scene after one of them was also wounded.
U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem confirmed that the officer is hospitalized in stable condition and expected to survive. She noted the officer’s role with Customs and Border Protection, which operates at airports and land crossings.
Both suspects entered the U.S. illegally from the Dominican Republic and have extensive criminal records. Aybar-Berroa, who arrived in 2022, has been arrested eight times on charges including grand larceny, and is a suspect in multiple other cases. A federal judge ordered his deportation in 2023, but local authorities reportedly released him before federal immigration officials could take custody.
Mora, who entered the country illegally through Arizona in 2023, has prior arrests for domestic violence, robbery, felony assault, and is wanted in Massachusetts for a weapons-related case.
Homeland Security officials sharply criticized New York City policies that allow release of such offenders, blaming them for the suspect’s repeated arrests without detention.
Mayor Eric Adams distanced himself from those accusations, reaffirming his stance against “dangerous migrants and asylum seekers” but clarifying that the city does not protect criminals. Adams emphasized the need to end the “revolving door” of criminal release.
The investigation remains ongoing, and authorities urge anyone with information to come forward.
