Federal authorities have launched an investigation after a homemade bomb was thrown during a clash between far-right demonstrators and counterprotesters outside New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s official residence on Saturday.
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A preliminary analysis by the New York Police Department’s bomb squad determined that the device was “not a hoax device or a smoke bomb” but an improvised explosive that “could have caused serious injury or death,” New York City Police Commissioner Jessica S. Tisch said on Sunday. Two men were arrested at the scene, Tisch said.
The FBI said in a Sunday statement that its Joint Terrorism Task Force is assisting city police and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York with the investigation.
The incident occurred during a skirmish between counterprotesters and an anti-Islam protest led by far-right activist Jake Lang outside Gracie Mansion. The FBI said Sunday that two devices were thrown.
Mamdani, the city’s first Muslim mayor, was at home with his wife Rama Duwaji at the time of the incident. “Violence at a protest is never acceptable,” the mayor said in a statement Sunday, calling the attempt to use an explosive device “not only criminal” but also “reprehensible and the antithesis of who we are.” Mamdani added that his administration is monitoring the situation.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul thanked first responders to the incident on X and added: “There is no place for violence of any kind in our State and those responsible for this cowardly act will be held accountable.”
Here’s what we know so far.
What happened?
Police have accused a counterprotester, identified as Emir Balat, 18, of throwing an ignited device toward the protest area at around 12:38 p.m on Saturday. The device, Tisch said at a Saturday news conference, was smaller than a football and appeared to be a jar wrapped in black tape that contained nuts, bolts, and screws, along with a hobby fuse that could be lit. Witnesses reported seeing flames and smoke when it flew, but the device “struck a barrier and extinguished itself a few feet from police officers,” Tisch added.
Balat was arrested along with another man, Ibrahim Kayumi, 19, who is accused of supplying one of the projectiles, police said. No one was injured and charges have not yet been laid against the pair.
Four other protesters were also arrested, including Ian McGinnis, 21, who was accused of using pepper spray against the counterprotesters.
As the investigation continued on Sunday, the NYPD said they had identified a suspicious device in a vehicle on East End Avenue between 81st Street and 82nd Street, prompting an evacuation of nearby buildings. Police removed the device safely a few hours later, and the area was reopened.
What do we know about those linked to the bomb?
CBS News reported that Balat, a U.S. citizen, lived with his parents in Pennsylvania. Balat’s parents were born in Turkey and were naturalized as U.S. citizens in 2017. Meanwhile, Kayumi’s parents were reportedly originally from Afghanistan, becoming naturalized citizens in 2004 and 2009.
ABC-operated WPVI-TV reported that FBI agents raided the homes of Kayumi and Balat in Newtown and Langhorne, respectively, both in Bucks County, Pa.
Speaking to the New York Times, Kayumi’s father Khayer Kayumi said they began searching for their son after he did not return home on Saturday afternoon. “If he’s going to be five minutes late, he calls,” the older Kayumi said. “We didn’t know what was going on.”
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