‘Explosive device’ thrown at protest outside NYC Mayor Mamdani home: NYPD

Two people have been arrested after the device was thrown, as far-right demonstrators clashed with counterprotesters.

The New York City Police Department (NYPD) has said that an “improvised explosive device” was thrown during a protest outside New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s home, with two men taken into custody.

The statement on Sunday came a day after the incident outside the mayor’s residence, Gracie Mansion, where far-right, anti-Muslim demonstrators, led by activist Jake Lang, clashed with counterprotesters.

NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said a preliminary analysis has found that the item thrown by a man at the protest was “not a hoax device or a smoke bomb”.

“It is, in fact, an improvised explosive device that could have caused serious injury or death,” she said, adding that further analysis would be conducted on the device, as well as a second device left near the scene.

Tisch said that two men, identified as Emir Balat and Ibrahim Kayumi, were arrested at the scene. The FBI has also joined the investigation.