{"id":464861,"date":"2026-03-08T21:37:08","date_gmt":"2026-03-08T21:37:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/464861\/"},"modified":"2026-03-08T21:37:08","modified_gmt":"2026-03-08T21:37:08","slug":"explosive-device-thrown-outside-of-zohran-mamdanis-residence-at-anti-islam-protest-new-york","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/464861\/","title":{"rendered":"Explosive device thrown outside of Zohran Mamdani\u2019s residence at anti-Islam protest | New York"},"content":{"rendered":"

New York<\/a> police have confirmed that an improvised explosive device was thrown outside Zohran Mamdani<\/a>\u2019s official residence on Saturday when anti-Islam demonstrators clashed with counterprotesters.<\/p>\n

New York police commissioner Jessica Tisch confirmed that a preliminary bomb squad analysis of the device that was ignited and thrown during the protest had \u201cdetermined that it is not a hoax device or a smoke bomb\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is, in fact, an improvised explosive device that could have caused serious injury or death. Further analysis will be conducted, including on a second device,\u201d Tisch said in a social media post.<\/a><\/p>\n

The commissioner added that two men, Emir Balat and Ibrahim Kayumi, who were arrested on the scene, are in custody in connection with the incident and that New York police are working with federal prosecutors and the FBI through a terrorism taskforce.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want to again thank the brave members of the NYPD who ran towards the danger without hesitation and quickly apprehended the suspects,\u201d Tisch added.<\/p>\n

Leftwing activists demonstrate at a protest organized by the rightwing influencer Jake Lang outside of Gracie Mansion in New York City on Saturday. Photograph: Ryan Murphy\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

Mamdani said in a statement that Jake Lang, a rightwing influencer, had organized a protest \u201crooted in bigotry and racism. Such hate has no place in New York City. It is an affront to our city\u2019s values and the unity that defines who we are.\u201d<\/p>\n

He added: \u201cWhat 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

The mayor, who had been marking his first 100 days in office, thanked the NYPD for acting quickly to keep New Yorkers safe. \u201cOur officers ran toward danger without hesitation, demonstrating once again the courage and dedication it takes to protect this city every single day,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Six people were arrested on Saturday during the clash between far-right protesters who had gathered for a \u201cStop the Islamic Takeover of New York City\u201d demonstration near Gracie Mansion, the Upper East Side home of Mamdani, the city\u2019s first Muslim mayor, and counterprotesters.<\/p>\n

One counterprotester at the event lit and threw a device containing nuts, bolts and screws at the anti-Muslim protesters after someone from that group used pepper spray on the counterprotest, police said. Fistfights broke out among the crowd, said the New York Times<\/a>, and raw eggs flew through the air.<\/p>\n

Tensions continued to heighten, she said, when someone in the counterprotest lit and threw a device Tisch described as smaller than a football into the protesting crowd of about 20 people.<\/p>\n

Far-right activist Jake Lang leaves with members of the \u2018End Islamification\u2019 rally while carrying a goat outside of Grace Mansion, on Saturday. Photograph: Derek French\/SOPA Images\/Shutterstock<\/p>\n

The device struck a barrier and extinguished itself \u201ca few feet from police officers\u201d, she said. The same person then ran, and another person gave a him a second device, which he then dropped. The devices, which Tisch said were smaller than a football, were wrapped in black tape with nuts, bolts and screws, as well as a hobby fuse that could be lit.<\/p>\n

Tisch didn\u2019t report any injuries during a news conference and said she believed Mamdani was not in the residence at the time.<\/p>\n

Lang was previously charged with assaulting an officer with a baseball bat, civil disorder and other crimes before receiving clemency as part of Donald Trump\u2019s sweeping act of clemency for January 6 defendants last year. Lang recently announced that he is running for US Senate in Florida.<\/p>\n

Lang has also protested in Minneapolis during the Trump administration\u2019s immigration crackdown.<\/p>\n

Tisch said about 20 people showed up to the protest tied to him on Saturday, and the counterprotest had about 125 people at its peak.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"New York police have confirmed that an improvised explosive device was thrown outside Zohran Mamdani\u2019s official residence on…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":464862,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[49,50,51,47,52,48],"class_list":["post-464861","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-headlines","tag-news","tag-top-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topnews","tag-topstories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/464861","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=464861"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/464861\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/464862"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=464861"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=464861"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=464861"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}