Staten Island Rep. Nicole Malliotakis went off Tuesday night on Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez for keeping quiet about a Venezuelan gang member who entered the US illegally and shot two NYPD officers in the “Squad” member’s district earlier this week.
“Hey Baby Girl @AOC, two cops were shot in your district by an illegal immigrant who we NOW find out is a Venezuelan gang member being housed in a hotel at our constituents’ expense and you still have NOTHING to say about it?? Really?” Malliotakis (R-NY) posted on X Tuesday night.
“Hey Baby Girl @AOC, two cops were shot in your district by an illegal immigrant who we NOW find out is a Venezuelan gang member being housed in a hotel at our constituents’ expense and you still have NOTHING to say about it?? Really?” Malliotakis posted on X Tuesday night. Getty ImagesDuring a heated late-night House Oversight Committee hearing last month, Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) had lashed out at far-right Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) for criticizing Democrat Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas) for her “fake eyelashes.”
“How dare you attack the physical appearance of another person!” the Bronx and Queens Democrat shouted in defense of Crockett.
“Are your feelings hurt? Aww,” Greene mocked.
“Oh! Girl, baby girl!” Ocasio-Cortez shot back. “Don’t even play!”
Venezuelan migrant Bernardo Castro Mata, 19, was charged Tuesday with two counts of attempted murder for shooting NYPD officers Richard Yarusso and Christopher Abreu — hitting the first in his bulletproof vest and wounding the second in the leg in the early hours of Monday.
In a heated, late-night House Oversight Committee hearing last month, Ocasio-Cortez had lashed out at far-right Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene for criticizing Rep. Jasmine Crockett’s “fake eyelashes.” CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty ImagesMata crossed illegally into Texas in July 2023, had his asylum case dismissed by a Chicago court two weeks ago and was living in a migrant shelter inside a former Courtyard Marriott Hotel near LaGuardia Airport in Queens before the shooting.
Law enforcement sources told The Post that he was suspected of being a member of the Tren de Aragua gang, though his criminal ties were unknown when authorities allowed him to roam freely without his asylum being granted or denied.
NYPD officer Christopher Abreu was hit in the leg by one of Mata’s bullets in the “Squad” congresswoman’s district Robert MeceaNew York City Mayor Eric Adams touted The Post’s exclusive reporting on the criminal suspect in his Tuesday press conference about the attempted cop-killing.
Mata is also suspected of participating in snatch-and-grab robberies of two Queens women — one of whom was hit in the face, according to police and sources.
Venezuelan gang member Bernardo Castro Mata, 19, was charged Tuesday with two counts of attempted murder for shooting two NYPD cops. FNTVA spokeswoman for Ocasio-Cortez’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.






