Two counterprotesters who threw improvised explosive devices toward anti-Muslim protesters during a demonstration outside Gracie Mansion on Saturday may have been inspired by ISIS, city officials said Monday.
At a press conference, Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said the two devices ignited during the protest outside New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s residence on Manhattan’s Upper East Side could have caused serious injury or death.
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Two improvised explosive devices were thrown by counterprotesters during an anti-Muslim protest and counterprotest outside Gracie Mansion Saturday, authorities said
An NYPD analysis determined that one of the devices contained the substance triacetone triperoxide, a “highly-volatile” homemade explosive also known as TATP, according to police
A third suspicious device found in a nearby vehicle tested negative for the explosive, police said. The incident occurred during a “Stop the Islamic Takeover of New York City” rally organized by far-right activist Jake Lang
One device was deployed in a crosswalk at East End Avenue and East 87th Street, while the other was set off on the west side of East End Avenue between East 86th and East 87th streets, Tisch said.
“I can confirm this morning that this is being investigated as an act of ISIS-inspired terrorism,” she said. “Preliminary test results determined that these were not hoax devices, nor smoke bombs.”
An NYPD analysis determined that one of the devices contained the substance triacetone triperoxide, a “highly-volatile” homemade explosive also known as TATP, Tisch said.
The NYPD’s investigation led detectives to a black 2010 Honda with New Jersey plates tied to the suspects on East End Avenue between East 81st and 82nd streets, where a third suspicious device was discovered, along with materials “consistent with the first two explosive devices,” the commissioner said.
Police temporarily evacuated the nearby area, as officers removed the device, which ultimately tested negative for explosive material, she said.
Two counterprotesters, 18-year-old Emir Balat and 19-year-old Ibrahim Kayumi, were taken into custody in connection with the devices, Tisch said. Mayor Zohran Mamdani said the two traveled from Pennsylvania and “attempted to bring violence to New York City.”
“They are suspected of coming here to commit an act of terrorism. There is video of these two individuals throwing two devices towards the protest,” he said. “The police department has determined that these were improvised explosive devices made to injure, maim or worse.”
“Thanks to the swift and decisive actions of NYPD officers at the scene, both men were immediately taken into custody, and the devices they brought taken off of our streets,” he added.
Mamdani noted that he and his wife, Rama Duwaji, were at the New York Sign Museum in Brooklyn at the time of the protests and not home at Gracie Mansion.
The incident occurred during a “Stop the Islamic Takeover of New York City” rally organized by far-right activist Jake Lang. The event drew a larger group of counter-demonstrators, according to police.
Mamdani on Monday condemned the rally’s ideology while affirming the right to protest.
“This was a vile protest rooted in white supremacy,” he said. “While I found this protest appalling, I will not waver in my belief that it should be allowed to happen.”
“Ours is a free society where the right to peaceful protest is sacred,” he added. “It does not belong only to those we agree with. It belongs to everyone.”