A bomb scare outside New York's mayoral residence is now being treated as a terrorism case with possible links to the Islamic State, police said Monday, reports the New York Times. Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said one of two improvised explosive devices recovered near Gracie Mansion on Saturday contained TATP, a volatile homemade explosive used in attacks overseas. The device, tossed onto a sidewalk as a right-wing rally wrapped up, smoked but did not detonate. No injuries were reported. Mayor Zohran Mamdani said the devices "were meant to injure, maim, or worse."
The rally outside the Upper East Side home of Mamdani, the city's first Muslim mayor, was organized by far-right social media figure Jake Lang and promoted as a "Stop the Islamic Takeover of New York City" event. Mamdani condemned the demonstration as "vile" and "rooted in white supremacy," while insisting peaceful protest "should be allowed to happen." Lang arrived with a goat and about 20 supporters in patriotic gear; roughly 100 counterprotesters also gathered as tensions rose.
Police arrested six people, including two Pennsylvania men, Emir Balat, 18, and Ibrahim Nikk Kayumi, 19, who will face federal charges in Manhattan; specific counts are to be revealed later Monday. Described as counterprotesters, "they are suspected of coming here to commit an act of terrorism," Mamdani said, per CBS News. One suspect told investigators they were motivated by Lang's perceived disrespect toward Muslims, a law enforcement official tells the Times. Mamdani and Tisch praised the two officers who ran toward the suspect who threw the device. A third device, found Sunday in a parked car several blocks away, was determined not to contain explosives.
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