Second suspect arrested in CBP officer shooting has lengthy criminal past, DHS says
By Greg Norman
Published July 21, 2025
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.
NOEM BLAMES 'SANCTUARY' POLICIES FOR MIGRANT ACCUSED OF SHOOTING OFF-DUTY CBP OFFICER
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.
SHOOTER WHO OPENED FIRE ON BORDER PATROL AGENTS IN SOUTH TEXAS IDENTIFIED BY POLICE CHIEF
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.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
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. Print Close
URL
https://www.foxnews.com/us/second-suspect-arrested-cbp-officer-shooting-has-lengthy-criminal-past-dhs-says
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
a minute ago
- Yahoo
Kaylee Goncalves's sister tells killer Bryan Kohberger he's a 'delusional, pathetic, hypochondriac loser' in blistering impact statement: Watch in full
Read Alivea Goncalves's statement in full. Kaylee Goncalves was one of four University of Idaho students who were stabbed to death by admitted killer Bryan Kohberger on Nov. 13, 2022. Kohberger was sentenced to four consecutive life sentences on Wednesday for the murders of Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin. Many of the victims' families attended the emotional hearing and addressed Kohberger directly, including Alivea Goncalves, Kaylee's older sister. Her scathing impact statement included a list of questions for her sister's killer before she berated him in front of the court, which received a round of applause. According to NewsNation reporter Brian Entin, Alivea Goncalves said Kohberger was "clenching his jaw" and "seemed like he was forgetting to blink" while she spoke to him. You can watch Alivea deliver her full statement at the top of the article or read it in full here: I'm not here today to speak in grief. I'm here to speak in truth, because the truth is my sister Kaylee and her best friend Maddie were not yours to take. They were not yours to study, to stalk or to silence. They were two pieces of a whole, the perfect yin and yang. They are everything that you could never be: loved, accepted, vibrant, accomplished, brave and powerful. Because the truth about Kaylee and Maddie is they would have been kind to you. If you had approached them in their everyday lives, they would have given you directions, thanked you for the compliment, or awkwardly giggled to make your own words less uncomfortable for you. In a world that rejected you, they would have shown mercy. Because the truth is I'm angry. Every day I'm angry. I'm left shouting at the inside of my own head everything I wish I could say to you. The truth about me is when I heard the news, I didn't cry. I listened for them. I promised them I would, that I would fight for them, that I would show up no matter what it cost me. I swore I'd never let them feel alone. Because you see, I've always been their heavyweight. I've always been the one to fight the battles they didn't feel ready to fight themselves. All it ever took was a call, and they know I would handle it for them, no matter the time, no matter the cost. They could wave their white flag because they knew I would never back down. Not for them, and not even death could change that. Somewhere along the line, I started to think about what I would say to them if I was given just one last chance. If I could gather enough heartbreak or love or sacrifice or whatever it took to get just one message across. What would I say? Throughout this entire process, I've written my feelings down at every moment, my wishes, my love, my denial, my anger. And as one final act of love, I'd planned to read these thoughts, even jarring and discombobulating and not even making sense. Because for me, that was true love as bare and as naked as it could be, not laced in pretty words or dressed for the occasion, but written through bleary eyes at 2 a.m. with clenched fists angry at this reality. My true final act of love was to continue on without them for them. That dream to read aloud my love to them, to bring meaning through pain, was the latest blow in realizing you don't deserve it, and Kaylee and Maddie don't need it. Kaylee and Maddie have always known my love, and they would never ask me to prove it by further victimizing myself to a defendant who has shown no guilt, no remorse, no apprehension. They would say to me, "Why would you give the satisfaction of showing vulnerability now? You promised you would never back down." And for that clarity, I'm thankful. I won't stand here and give you want you want. I won't offer you tears. I won't offer you trembling. Disappointments like you thrive on pain, on fear and on the illusion of power. And I won't feed your beast. Instead, I will call you what you are: sociopath, psychopath, murderer. I will ask the questions that reverberate violently in my own head so loudly that I can't think straight, most any day. Some of these might be familiar. So, sit up straight when I talk to you. How was your life right before you murdered my sisters? Did you prepare for the crime before leaving your apartment? Please detail what you were thinking and feeling at this time. Why did you choose my sisters? Before making your move, did you approach my sisters? Detail what you were thinking and feeling. Before leaving their home, is there anything else you did? How does it feel to know the only thing you failed more miserably at than being a murderer is trying to be a rapper? Did you recently start shaving or manually pulling out your eyebrows? Why November 13th? Did you truly think your Amazon purchase was untraceable because you used a gift card? How do you find it enjoyable to stargaze with such a severe case of visual snow? Where is the murder weapon, the clothes you wore that night? What did you bring into the house with you? What was the second weapon you used on Kaylee? What were Kaylee's last words? Please describe, in detail, the level of anxiety you must have felt when you heard the bearcat pull up to your family home on December 30, 2022. Which do you regret more: returning to the crime scene five hours later or never, ever going back to Moscow, not even once after stalking them there for months? If you were really smart, do you think you'd be here right now? What's it like needing this much attention just to feel real? You're terrified of being ordinary, aren't you? Do you feel anything at all, or are you exactly what you always feared? Nothing. If you're so powerful, then why are you still hiding? Defendant, you see, I'm here today as me, but who are you? Let's try to take off your mask and see. You didn't create devastation. You revealed it, and it's in yourself. And that darkness you carry, that emptiness, you'll sit with it long after this is over. That is your sentence, and it was written on the wall long before you ever pled guilty. You didn't win. You just exposed yourself as the coward you are. You're a delusional, pathetic, hypochondriac loser who thought you were so much smarter than everybody else. Constantly scolding, turning your nose up to grammar mistakes, nitpicking and criticizing others. You wanted so badly to be different, to be special, to be better, to be deep, to be mysterious. You found yourself thinking you were better than everyone else, and you thought you could figure out the human psyche and see through it, all while tweaked out on heroin. Lurking in the shadows made you feel powerful because no one ever paid you any attention in the light. You thought you were exceptional all because of a grade on a paper. You thought you were elite because your online IQ test from 2010 told you so. All of that effort just to seem important; it's desperate. There is a name for your condition, though your inflated ego just didn't allow you to see it: wannabe. You act like noone could ever understand your mind. But the truth is you're basic. You're textbook case of insecurity disguised as control. Your patterns are predictable. Your motives are shallow. You are not profound. You're pathetic. You aren't special or deep, not mysterious or exceptional. Don't ever get it twisted again. No one is scared of you today. No one is intimidated by you. No one is impressed by you. No one thinks that you are important. You orchestrated this like you thought you were God. Now look at you, begging a courtroom for scraps. You spent months preparing and still all it took was my sister and a sheath. You worked so hard to seem dangerous, but real control doesn't have to prove itself. The truth is, the scariest part about you is how painfully average you turned out to be. The truth is, you're as dumb as they come, stupid, clumsy, slow, sloppy, weak, dirty. Let me be very clear. Don't ever try to convince yourself you mattered just because someone finally said your name out loud. I see through you. You want the truth. Here's the one you'll hate the most, if you hadn't attacked them in their sleep, in the middle of the night, like a pedophile, Kaylee would have kicked your f***ing ass.
CBS News
a minute ago
- CBS News
House of Wiggle Goats owner facing over a dozen animal cruelty charges
The owner of House of Wiggle Goats, a Montgomery County-based animal rescue, is facing more than a dozen animal cruelty charges. Investigators charged Erin Wiggle with four felony counts of torturing animals and 10 misdemeanor counts of failing to provide necessary sustenance, water and veterinary care for animals. Online court records show the accusations date back to May 30, which is two days after a fire destroyed the historic barn where the rescue was located. At the time, Wiggle claimed a mouse nest behind the electrical breaker box sparked the fire. CBS News Philadelphia reached out to the Montgomery County District Attorney's office for more information about the accusations. CBS News Philadelphia also called and texted Wiggle's cell phone, but she hasn't yet responded.
CNN
4 minutes ago
- CNN
Top DOJ official to meet with Ghislaine Maxwell on Thursday
Federal agenciesFacebookTweetLink Follow Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche is expected to meet with Ghislaine Maxwell on Thursday, two people familiar with the meeting tell CNN, as President Donald Trump continues to face backlash over the Jeffrey Epstein saga. The meeting comes after the Department of Justice said earlier this week it had reached out to Epstein's former associate, with Blanche saying in a statement on Tuesday that if 'Ghislane Maxwell has information about anyone who has committed crimes against victims, the FBI and the DOJ will hear what she has to say.' It comes as many of Trump's supporters have demanded the release of more information about the accused sex trafficker alongside growing concerns for transparency among Republicans on Capitol Hill. The House Oversight subcommittee voted Wednesday to subpoena the DOJ for files related to Epstein in a surprise move amounting to a show of defiance by some House Republicans against Speaker Mike Johnson. Johnson has attempted to tamp down on efforts to push the release of the so-called Epstein files and shut the door on the possibility of a House vote on releasing information on Epstein before the August recess. The subpoena calls for the Epstein files in the Justice Department's possession to be provided to Congress, but for the names of the victims to be redacted. It also calls for communications between former Biden officials and the Justice Department related to the Epstein matter, in addition to depositions among some major figures, including Bill and Hillary Clinton and former FBI Director James Comey. Last week, the Justice Department asked a federal judge to make public years-old grand jury testimony against Epstein, though a Florida federal judge on Wednesday declined to release additional grand jury documents from the criminal investigation into Epstein. Maxwell was sentenced in 2022 to 20 years in federal prison for carrying out a years-long scheme with Epstein to groom and sexually abuse underage girls. She has continued to appeal her conviction.
