Two men were arrested after throwing "suspicious devices" during a protest outside New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani's office. The accused have been identified as Emir Balat (18) and Ibrahim Kayumi (19).
The two came during an anti-Islam protest near Gracie Mansion, the New York City Mayor's official residence. The protest was organised by people connected to Jake Lang, a pardoned Jan. 6 rioter and far-right influencer, CBS News reported.
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New York Police Department Commissioner Jessica Tisch said Balat threw an explosive device toward the protestors. According to the witnesses, flames from the explosive device flew through the air before it struck and extinguished itself a few feet from the police officers.
‘Not A Hoax’
Tisch claimed that the device was not a "hoax device or a smoke bomb," but instead it was "an improvised explosive device (IED) that could have inflicted serious injury or death." According to CBS News, a federal terrorism inquiry is underway after the suspicious device ignited.
The New York police described the devices as a bit smaller than a football and resembling a jar coated with nuts, bolts, and screws, along with a hobby fuse.
Reports confirmed that IEDs contained triacetone triperoxide, or TATP, which is a hazardous explosive material. It is often synthesised from acetone and hydrogen peroxide and appears as a white crystalline powder.
The New York police further added that another suspicious device was discovered on Sunday in a vehicle on East End Avenue almost three blocks south of the park where Gracie Mansion is located. After this, the authorities directed a "limited evacuation of buildings in the vicinity while the bomb squad assesses and removes the device." Afterwards, the device was removed for further testing.