Improvised explosive found at protests near Manhattan's Gracie Mansion, Mamdani's official residence, NYPD says
New York City Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch says at least one suspicious device recovered during clashing protests outside Gracie Mansion, the official residence of Mayor Zohran Mamdani, was an improvised explosive.
Tisch told reporters during a Saturday evening news conference that an anti-Islam protest on Manhattan's Upper East Side was organized by people associated with Jake Lang, a pardoned Jan. 6 rioter and far-right influencer, and was called "Stop the Islamic Takeover of New York City/Stop New York City Public Muslim Prayer."
The Lang-associated protest drew about 20 participants, Tisch said, beginning at about 11 a.m. near East End Avenue and East 87th Street. A counterprotest called "Run the Nazis Out of New York City/Stand Against Hate" drew about 125 participants, Tisch said.
Suspects arrested at clashing protests
NYPD officers arrived on the scene and separated the groups into designated protest areas, police said.
Tensions between the two groups began escalating, and at around 12:15 p.m., an individual from the initial protest used pepper spray against the counter-protesters, police said. Tisch said that suspect was later arrested.
Tisch said that shortly after 12:30 p.m., a counter-protester, identified as 18-year-old Emir Balat of Pennsylvania, lit and threw an ignited device toward the protesters. According to Tisch, witnesses saw flames and smoke as the device struck a barrier in a crosswalk, a few feet away from police officers. The device then extinguished itself.
In videos depicting the chaos, a man appears to yell "Allahu Akbar" just as Balat throws the device that Tisch described as "a jar wrapped in tape, importantly with nuts, bolts, and screws along with a hobby fuse." The videos were verified by the CBS News Confirmed Team. It is not clear from the videos who was shouting the words.
Balat allegedly then ran away and retrieved a second device from 19-year-old Ibrahim Nikk, also of Pennsylvania, then lit the device and started running with it before eventually dropping it, Tisch said.
Balat and Nikk were taken into custody. According to law enforcement sources, investigators were looking to determine if at least one was inspired by ISIS extremist messaging.
Devices contained explosive material, sources say
The NYPD Bomb Squad was called in to examine the devices. Tisch said it was unclear at the time whether the devices were functionable improvised explosive devices or hoax devices, and that they required further police testing and analysis.
"The NYPD Bomb Squad has conducted a preliminary analysis of a device that was ignited and deployed at a protest yesterday and has determined that it is not a hoax device or a smoke bomb. It is, in fact, an improvised explosive device that could have caused serious injury or death," Tisch said in a statement Sunday. "Further analysis will be conducted, including on a second device."
Law enforcement sources familiar with the investigation told CBS News that the devices contained triacetone triperoxide (TATP), a highly volatile, unstable explosive material which is often synthesized from acetone and hydrogen peroxide and appears as a white crystalline powder. The devices consisted of a sports drink bottle containing explosive material set inside a glass jar and surrounded by fragmentation, with a kind of fuse used for fireworks, the sources added.
"These devices were constructed with the intent to kill or maim," said Richard Esposito, CBS News law enforcement contributor and author of "Bomb Squad," a book featuring the NYPD's Bomb Squad.
The devices were rendered safe Sunday and a search was underway of Balat's and Nikk's residences, electronic devices and social media, according to sources.
Mamdani was inside Gracie Mansion
The NYPD confirmed the mayor was inside Gracie Mansion at the time of the demonstrations.
In a statement, a spokesperson for Mamdani said that "the 'Crusade Against Islamification' gathering held outside Gracie Mansion today by Jake Lang, a vile white supremacist, was despicable and Islamophobic. Thankfully, the Mayor and the First Lady are both safe, though the events are a stark reminder of the threats they both face regularly. The Mayor has spoken with Police Commissioner Tisch, and the NYPD is actively investigating the protest, counter-protest, and suspicious devices discovered outside Gracie Mansion."
Mamdani released the following statement following the NYPD's discovery that at least one device was an explosive:
Yesterday, white supremacist Jake Lang organized a protest outside Gracie Mansion rooted in bigotry and racism. Such hate has no place in New York City. It is an affront to our city's values and the unity that defines who we are.
What 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.
I want to thank the brave men and women of the NYPD who acted quickly to keep New Yorkers safe. Our officers ran toward danger without hesitation, demonstrating once again the courage and dedication it takes to protect this city every single day.
My administration is closely monitoring the situation and I remain in close contact with our Police Commissioner.
No other devices found
Police continued to search the area near Gracie Mansion for additional hazards, but Tisch said no other devices had been found.
Tisch added there was no indication that the incident was related to the war with Iran.
The NYPD said a total of six arrests were made at the protests, including Balat, Nikk and the suspect involved in the pepper spray incident. An additional three arrests were made for disorderly conduct and obstructing traffic.
The investigation is ongoing. The FBI New York's Joint Terrorism Task Force is also investigating.