The lit device thrown during a clash of protests outside Gracie Mansion was in fact an "improvised explosive device," NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said Sunday.
Device ignited outside NYC mayor’s home was ‘improvised explosive,’ NYPD says
Brian Price, Jonathan Dienst, Tom Winter
The NYPD and FBI are investigating the improvised explosive device recovered from outside Gracie Mansion during Saturday’s protests as a potential act of terrorism in part because one of the two suspects in custody directly reference ISIS in statements to law enforcement, multiple people familiar with the matter said.
The device was one of two ignited during dueling protests outside of the official residence of Mayor Zohran Mamdani on Manhattan’s Upper East Side. The law enforcement investigation continued into Sunday afternoon, when the NYPD Bomb Squad dispatched a robot several blocks away from the protest scene to search a car thought to belong to the suspects.
Police said they found a suspicious device inside the car on East End Avenue between 81st and 82nd streets, prompting “limited” evacuations from buildings in the immediate vicinity.
Two men were taken into custody, accused of lighting the devices, during an anti-Islam demonstration led by conservative influencer Jake Lang and a much larger group of counterprotesters clashed outside of the mayor’s residence. Mamdani and first lady Rama Duwaji, who are Muslim, were home at the time of the commotion.
NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch identified the suspects as Emir Balat and Ibrahim Kayumi, both believed to have traveled into the city from Pennsylvania, according to sources. The men, ages 18 and 19, were being interviewed by the NYPD and FBI.
“The NYPD Bomb Squad has conducted a preliminary analysis of a device that was ignited and deployed at a protest yesterday and has determined that it is not a hoax device or a smoke bomb. It is, in fact, an improvised explosive device that could have caused serious injury or death,” Tisch said in a social media post.
Investigators were still conducting an analysis on a second device recovered Saturday.
Mamdani released a statement Sunday denouncing Lang’s protest and the violence that followed.
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"Yesterday, white supremacist Jake Lang organized a protest outside Gracie Mansion rooted in bigotry and racism. Such hate has no place in New York City. It is an affront to our city’s values and the unity that defines who we are.
What followed was even more disturbing. Violence at a protest is never acceptable. The attempt to use an explosive device and hurt others is not only criminal, it is reprehensible and the antithesis of who we are.
I want to thank the brave men and women of the NYPD who acted quickly to keep New Yorkers safe. Our officers ran toward danger without hesitation, demonstrating once again the courage and dedication it takes to protect this city every single day.
My administration is closely monitoring the situation and I remain in close contact with our Police Commissioner."
A person flees after throwing a homemade explosive device during a protest organized by far-right influencer Jake Lang in front of Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s official residence on Saturday.
The two protest groups were initially divided by police, separated by barriers, before tensions escalated. Around 12:30 p.m., Tisch said an 18-year-old counterprotester “lit and threw an ignited device toward the protest area."
Witnesses said the device was smoking but extinguished itself after hitting a barrier and landing a few feet from police, the commissioner said Saturday.
The 18-year-old grabbed a second device from a 19-year-old man and lit that one too, before dropping it. No one was injured by either device, police said.
Police have said the men were counterprotesters to Lang’s protest, called “Stop the Islamic Takeover of New York City, Stop New York City Public Muslim Prayer."
Overall, six people were arrested as a result of Saturday’s protest — the two men “responsible for handling and deploying the devices,” the person who deployed pepper spray and three others related to disorderly conduct and obstructing traffic, Tisch said.
Police said six people were placed into custody after a pair of “suspicious devices” were ignited Saturday during protests outside of Gracie Mansion, the official residence of the mayor of New York City. NBC New York’s Adam Harding reports.
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Device ignited outside NYC mayor’s home was ‘improvised explosive,’ NYPD says Brian Price, Jonathan Dienst, Tom Winter
The NYPD and FBI are investigating the improvised explosive device recovered from outside Gracie Mansion during Saturday’s protests as a potential act of terrorism in part because one of the two suspects in custody directly reference ISIS in statements to law enforcement, multiple people familiar with the matter said.
The device was one of two ignited during dueling protests outside of the official residence of Mayor Zohran Mamdani on Manhattan’s Upper East Side. The law enforcement investigation continued into Sunday afternoon, when the NYPD Bomb Squad dispatched a robot several blocks away from the protest scene to search a car thought to belong to the suspects.
Police said they found a suspicious device inside the car on East End Avenue between 81st and 82nd streets, prompting “limited” evacuations from buildings in the immediate vicinity.
Two men were taken into custody, accused of lighting the devices, during an anti-Islam demonstration led by conservative influencer Jake Lang and a much larger group of counterprotesters clashed outside of the mayor’s residence. Mamdani and first lady Rama Duwaji, who are Muslim, were home at the time of the commotion.
NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch identified the suspects as Emir Balat and Ibrahim Kayumi, both believed to have traveled into the city from Pennsylvania, according to sources. The men, ages 18 and 19, were being interviewed by the NYPD and FBI.
“The NYPD Bomb Squad has conducted a preliminary analysis of a device that was ignited and deployed at a protest yesterday and has determined that it is not a hoax device or a smoke bomb. It is, in fact, an improvised explosive device that could have caused serious injury or death,” Tisch said in a social media post.
Investigators were still conducting an analysis on a second device recovered Saturday.
Mamdani released a statement Sunday denouncing Lang’s protest and the violence that followed. New York City news
From Manhattan to Queens to Brooklyn to Staten Island and all points between, NBC New York covers New York City news, weather, traffic and more.
"Yesterday, white supremacist Jake Lang organized a protest outside Gracie Mansion rooted in bigotry and racism. Such hate has no place in New York City. It is an affront to our city’s values and the unity that defines who we are.
What followed was even more disturbing. Violence at a protest is never acceptable. The attempt to use an explosive device and hurt others is not only criminal, it is reprehensible and the antithesis of who we are.
I want to thank the brave men and women of the NYPD who acted quickly to keep New Yorkers safe. Our officers ran toward danger without hesitation, demonstrating once again the courage and dedication it takes to protect this city every single day.
My administration is closely monitoring the situation and I remain in close contact with our Police Commissioner."
A person flees after throwing a homemade explosive device during a protest organized by far-right influencer Jake Lang in front of Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s official residence on Saturday.
The two protest groups were initially divided by police, separated by barriers, before tensions escalated. Around 12:30 p.m., Tisch said an 18-year-old counterprotester “lit and threw an ignited device toward the protest area."
Witnesses said the device was smoking but extinguished itself after hitting a barrier and landing a few feet from police, the commissioner said Saturday.
The 18-year-old grabbed a second device from a 19-year-old man and lit that one too, before dropping it. No one was injured by either device, police said.
Police have said the men were counterprotesters to Lang’s protest, called “Stop the Islamic Takeover of New York City, Stop New York City Public Muslim Prayer."
Overall, six people were arrested as a result of Saturday’s protest — the two men “responsible for handling and deploying the devices,” the person who deployed pepper spray and three others related to disorderly conduct and obstructing traffic, Tisch said.
Police said six people were placed into custody after a pair of “suspicious devices” were ignited Saturday during protests outside of Gracie Mansion, the official residence of the mayor of New York City. NBC New York’s Adam Harding reports.