New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani addresses the press at the Office of Emergency Management in Brooklyn. Mamdani condemned the explosive attack at his home as "reprehensible and the antithesis of who we are." (Photo: REUTERS/Bing Guan)
NEW YORK – New York City authorities were placed on high alert over the weekend following the deployment of an improvised explosive device (IED) during protests outside Gracie Mansion, the official residence of Mayor Zohran Mamdani.
Newsroom
The incident occurred on Saturday, March 7, during intense clashes between two opposing groups of protesters:
-
A small group of far-right activists led by Jake Lang, protesting against the Muslim presence in the city.
-
A much larger group of approximately 125 counter-protesters.
According to Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch, an 18-year-old counter-protester, Emir Balat, ignited and threw a glass jar filled with nuts, bolts, and screws (shrapnel) toward police officers and protesters. The device emitted smoke and flames but fortunately extinguished itself before exploding.
Police immediately arrested two young men from Pennsylvania: Emir Balat (18) and Ibrahim Kayumi (19). Balat allegedly threw the first device and attempted to use a second one before being apprehended.
An analysis by the Bomb Squad confirmed the severity of the threat:
"This was not a hoax or a smoke bomb, but a functional improvised explosive device that could have caused serious injury or death."
Mayor Mamdani and his wife were not at the residence at the time of the attack. In an official statement on Sunday, the Mayor condemned the violence, stating:
"The attempt to use an explosive device to hurt others is not only criminal; it is reprehensible and the antithesis of who we are."
The FBI and the U.S. Department of Justice have joined the investigation, which is being treated as a potential case of domestic terrorism.
