NEW YORK — Federal and local authorities have launched a terrorism investigation after two Pennsylvania teenagers allegedly attempted to detonate homemade explosives outside Gracie Mansion, the official residence of Mayor Zohran Mamdani.
The FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF) and the NYPD are treating the Saturday incident as an “act of ISIS-inspired terrorism.” The suspects, identified as Emir Balat (18) and Ibrahim Kayumi (19), both of Pennsylvania, are currently in custody.
The Incident: IEDs and Shrapnel
The attempted attack unfolded during a volatile confrontation between anti-Islam protesters and a larger group of counter-protesters. According to NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch, the suspects deployed two improvised explosive devices (IEDs) that “could have caused serious injury or death.”
Technical details of the devices included:
- Composition: Glass bottles filled with triacetone triperoxide (TATP), a highly volatile homemade explosive.
- Shrapnel: The bottles were surrounded by “fragmentation”—specifically nuts and bolts—designed to maximize physical harm.
- Deployment: Video evidence shows Balat throwing one ignited device, which hit a barrier and extinguished. He then attempted to light a second device before dropping it and fleeing.
A third suspicious device and related materials were later recovered by an NYPD robot from a vehicle linked to the suspects in the Upper East Side.
“We were fortunate that the devices used this weekend did not cause the kind of harm that they were certainly capable of causing,” Commissioner Tisch stated during a Monday press conference. “But luck is never a strategy.”
Protests Turn Violent
The explosives were lit amidst a demonstration organized by Jake Lang, a far-right influencer and pardoned January 6 rioter. His anti-Islam group was reportedly outnumbered by more than 100 counter-protesters.
The ensuing chaos led to multiple arrests beyond the terror suspects:
- Ian McGuiness (21): Arrested for allegedly using pepper spray on counter-protesters.
- Three others: Charged with disorderly conduct and obstruction.
Official Reactions
Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who was the apparent target of the demonstration’s location, condemned the events in a Sunday statement. While labeling the initial protest as “rooted in bigotry,” he reserved his harshest words for the attempted bombing.
“Violence at a protest is never acceptable,” Mamdani said. “The attempt to use an explosive device and hurt others is not only criminal, it is reprehensible and the antithesis of who we are.”
The FBI has confirmed it is currently “chasing down all leads,” including reviewing social media and video footage to determine the full extent of the suspects’ radicalization and planning.
