New York City narrowly escaped a tragedy this weekend after two ISIS-trained extremists allegedly hurled a live explosive toward a crowd of protestors outside Gracie Mansion. According to the New York Post, investigators say the device — a homemade bomb packed with the notorious “Mother of Satan” explosive — could have killed anyone within arm’s reach if it had detonated.
Police identified the suspects as Ibraham Kayumi, 19, and Emir Balat, 18 — self-radicalized extremists who, according to law enforcement sources, had immersed themselves in ISIS propaganda and traveled through known terror-training hubs in Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Australia. Both admitted after their arrests that they acted out of rage, claiming right-wing protesters “insulted their religion,” sources said.
The confrontation erupted outside the mayor’s official residence on Saturday afternoon when right-wing agitator Jake Lang staged an anti-Muslim protest, according to The Post. The demonstration quickly spiraled into chaos as counter-protesters flooded the street. Amid flying fists and chants, police say an explosive-filled sports drink bottle wrapped in tape sailed through the air toward Lang’s group — a bottle packed with triacetone triperoxide (TATP), the same chemical used in deadly terror attacks across Europe.
“It’s designed to maim and kill,” one investigator told The Post, adding, “This is just luck no one is dead.” Officers rushed in and secured the device before it detonated, later confirming it was far more dangerous than early reports suggested. NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said her bomb squad determined it is “not a hoax device or smoke bomb.”
“It is, in fact, an improvised explosive device that could have caused serious injury or death,” she said.”I want to again thank the brave members of the NYPD, who ran towards danger without hesitation and quickly apprehended the suspects.”
As chaos unfolded, video footage captured multiple clashes, leading to six arrests — including both suspected bombers and Ian McGinnis, a right-wing protester accused of pepper-spraying the opposing crowd. Meanwhile, Mayor Zohran Mamdani condemned Lang’s event as “white supremacist,” saying New York “has no place for hate.” But he stopped short of acknowledging that the alleged attackers came from the opposing side.
“Violence at a protest is never acceptable,” the mayor added. “The attempt to use an explosive device and hurt others is not only criminal, it is reprehensible and the antithesis of who we are.”
Federal and city investigators are now working the case in tandem. Search warrants were executed Sunday at the suspects’ Pennsylvania homes, and a suspicious bottle matching the first device was found inside a Hyundai tied to one of them. It was safely neutralized. Both suspects are expected to be turned over to federal custody, with the bomb undergoing further testing at FBI headquarters in Quantico, Virginia.
Experts say TATP — nicknamed “Mother of Satan” for its volatility — is a favorite among terrorists because it’s cheap, lethal, and frighteningly easy to make using materials from everyday hardware stores. One wrong move during assembly can set it off. This time, New York was lucky — but police warn the threat could easily have ended in catastrophe.