Two Pennsylvania men were in custody Sunday after police said a device thrown outside Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s residence could have caused serious injury or death.
NEW YORK, NY — A homemade explosive thrown during clashing protests outside Gracie Mansion on Saturday has become the focus of a widening federal investigation after New York police said the device was capable of killing or badly injuring people near Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s official residence.
Police said the smoking object, tossed by a counterprotester during an anti-Islam demonstration on the Upper East Side, was not a hoax or a smoke bomb but an improvised explosive device. By Sunday, two men from Pennsylvania were in custody, the FBI had joined the case, and investigators were working to determine whether the attack was an isolated outburst, part of a broader extremist plot, or something in between. The immediate stakes were plain: no one was hurt, but officials said the device landed close enough to officers and demonstrators that the outcome could have been far worse.
The confrontation unfolded around midday Saturday outside Gracie Mansion, the mayoral residence overlooking the East River. Police said the event began as a small anti-Islam protest led by far-right activist Jake Lang and drew a much larger counterdemonstration nearby. Officers had separated the groups with barriers, but tensions rose as shouting matches and pushing broke out. At about 12:30 p.m., according to Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch, an 18-year-old counterprotester lit and threw a jar-like device toward the protest area. The object, later described by police as packed with nuts, bolts and screws and fitted with a hobby fuse, rolled near officers before going out. Tisch said the preliminary bomb squad analysis showed the device could have caused “serious injury or death.”
Police said the same suspect, identified as Emir Balat, then ran and later handled a second device that also failed to detonate as intended. Authorities identified a second man in custody as Ibrahim Kayumi. Both were described by police as counterprotesters, and both are from Pennsylvania. Investigators have not publicly laid out a full charging document as of Sunday evening, but federal charges were expected, according to multiple reports. The FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force took a lead role alongside the NYPD and the Justice Department. Investigators also continued examining at least one additional suspicious device tied to the scene, including one found in or near a vehicle in the same Upper East Side area on Sunday. What remains unknown is whether all of the devices were built by the same people, whether anyone else helped prepare them, and whether the suspects were acting from a personal grievance, ideological motive or both.
The protest itself added to the tension surrounding the case. Lang had promoted the event as “Stop the Islamic Takeover of New York City,” and officials said only about 20 people attended that demonstration, compared with roughly 125 counterprotesters who showed up to oppose it. Mamdani, the city’s first Muslim mayor, sharply condemned the protest’s message and then denounced the violence that followed. In a statement Sunday, he called the anti-Muslim rally an expression of bigotry and racism, then said the attempt to use an explosive device was “criminal” and “reprehensible.” Police said Mamdani and his wife were not believed to be home when the incident happened. Separately, authorities said another person was arrested for allegedly spraying pepper spray during the clash, and several more arrests were made on lower-level charges tied to disorderly conduct and obstructing traffic.
The legal and investigative path now appears to be moving on two tracks. City police are handling the immediate crime-scene work, bomb analysis and local arrests, while federal agents are examining whether the case meets the threshold for terrorism-related charges. Law enforcement officials told national outlets that investigators were reviewing online communications, interviewing relatives and associates, and preparing or carrying out search activity in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Officials have also said they are looking at statements the suspects allegedly made after their arrests, including comments that drew scrutiny from counterterrorism investigators. At the same time, police cautioned against jumping to conclusions about a wider international link. Tisch said Saturday there was no immediate indication the attack was tied to the recent U.S. strike on Iran, though she added that the investigation was continuing and early assumptions could change as evidence is processed.
By Sunday, the scene around Gracie Mansion had shifted from a political flashpoint to a tight investigative zone. Officers cordoned off nearby blocks, bomb technicians combed for evidence and residents watched as police responded to reports of another suspicious object in the neighborhood. Images from the protest showed a chaotic moment: a figure moving away as smoke trailed from the device, officers closing in, and demonstrators scattering. Tisch praised the officers who rushed toward the object instead of away from it. The commissioner said their quick response helped prevent panic and may have limited the danger. The incident also underscored how quickly confrontational street protests can turn into criminal investigations when someone arrives with an explosive. For now, the people who were shouting across police barricades have been replaced in public view by detectives, federal agents and technicians tracing fragments, fuses and digital clues.
As of Sunday night, no injuries had been reported, two main suspects remained in custody, and authorities were still testing the recovered devices and weighing federal charges. The next milestone is expected to be a formal charging decision or court appearance, along with further updates from the NYPD and FBI as the evidence review continues this week.
Author note: Last updated March 8, 2026.