Was it a bunch of kids having fun? Or was it assault against a police officer? Or something in between?

The case of NYPD officers who had snowballs thrown at them in Washington Square Park during a mass snowball fight organized on social media as the blizzard wound down is stoking controversy across the city.

Video taken of the incident in question appears to show people deliberately throwing snowballs at the heads of officers walking by. Some NYPD cops ended up with cuts on their faces, officials said, and were taken to a hospital for treatment. All of those officers are expected to be OK.

NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch condemned the behavior seen on video, calling it “disgraceful” and “criminal.”

Mayor Zohran Mamdani acknowledged videos of the cop-snowball-throwing-incident have been circulating, and said he watched them. He refrained from directly condemning the behavior seen in the video, lauding the NYPD for helping keep the city safe during the blizzard and reminding everyone to “treat them with respect.”

I’ve seen the videos of kids throwing snowballs at NYPD officers in Washington Square Park.

Officers, like all city workers, have been out in a historic blizzard, keeping New Yorkers safe and cars moving.

Treat them with respect. If anyone’s catching a snowball, it’s me.

— Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani (@NYCMayor) February 24, 2026

The record-breaking blizzard, the first one to hit the New York City area in a decade, brought the entire northeast of the United States to a halt on Monday. Central Park recorded 19.7 inches of snow as of Monday afternoon, marking its ninth-biggest snowfall in recorded history.

“The only person in our city’s workforce who deserves to be treated with a snowball is me,” the mayor said Monday, referring to kids who were upset that Mamdani was sending them back to class in person Tuesday.

While it’s not known whether all those involved were children or adults, Mamdani said the video “looked like kids at a snowball fight.”

Police later released photos of two individuals wanted in connection with the incident, which they described as an assault. The mayor has an unrelated news conference on Wednesday, where he may be asked for a response, now that the NYPD has shared photos of people of interest.

The NYC Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association called the incident “unacceptable and outrageous,” and later said that Mamdani’s response to the incident was “a failure of leadership.”