NYPD Says Device Thrown by Counterprotesters Near Mayor Mamdani’s Home Was an IED

The New York Police Department (NYPD) said on March 8 that an improvised explosive device (IED) was ignited and thrown by counterprotesters outside New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s residence over the weekend.

The incident occurred on March 7 as about 20 people, protesting what they called an Islamic “takeover” of the city, were confronted by about 125 counterprotesters near Gracie Mansion, where Mamdani and his wife reside. Police officers attempted to keep the two protests separate by designating two different areas, NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch told a press conference.

Tisch said that tensions were triggered when one person from the original protest—organized by pardoned Jan. 6, 2021, defendant Jake Lang and dubbed the “Stop the Islamic Takeover of New York City” protest—used pepper spray against counterprotesters who had gathered under the causes of “Run the Nazis Out of New York City” and “Stand Against Hate.”

In footage captured by the NYPD’s Argus surveillance camera network, one of the counterprotesters, identified as Emir Balat, 18, throws an ignited device toward the protest area. The device can be seen landing in a crosswalk on East End Avenue.

Tisch said witnesses also reported seeing flames and smoke before the device hit a barrier and extinguished itself “a few feet from police officers.”

Balat then fled the first scene before he got a second device from a man tentatively identified as Ibrahim Nick, 19, which he lit before being apprehended by police.

Balat and Nick, along with four other individuals, have been arrested following the attacks, including the individual who used pepper spray against the counterprotesters.

No injuries were reported. Tisch said Mamdani and his wife are not believed to have been home during the incident.

The explosive devices were jars wrapped in black tape and filled with nuts, bolts, and screws, along with a hobby fuse, according to Tisch.

In a latest update, Tisch said a preliminary bomb squad analysis determined that the first IED examined was not a hoax or smoke bomb but an explosive capable of causing serious injury or death.

“Further analysis will be conducted, including on a second device,” Tisch said in a statement.

The NYPD is working with the FBI on the investigation, she added.

The department earlier said it conducted “limited evacuations” of nearby buildings after a suspicious device was found in a vehicle on East End Avenue between 81st Street and 82nd Street.

In a social media post, Mamdani condemned Lang’s protest, describing it as “rooted in bigotry and racism.” The mayor said the ensuing violence 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,” he wrote on X.

Mamdani thanked the NYPD for its swift response and said his office is closely monitoring the situation and remains in close contact with the police commissioner.

“Our officers ran toward danger without hesitation, demonstrating once again the courage and dedication it takes to protect this city every single day,” he said.