Device thrown at protest near Gracie Mansion in NYC was an IED
A device thrown during opposing protests near Gracie Mansion in Manhattan was an improvised explosive device (IED) and not a hoax or smoke bomb, according to officials. Police said the device could have caused serious injury or death.
On Sunday, NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said the department’s Bomb Squad had completed a preliminary analysis of one of the devices ignited and deployed during Saturday’s unrest and determined it was an IED. She said further analysis will be conducted, including on a second device.
The announcement came as police also responded Sunday to a suspicious device found in a vehicle on East End Avenue between East 81st Street and East 82nd Street during the continuing investigation. The NYPD later said the device was safely removed for further testing.
Saturday’s incident happened shortly after noon near East End Avenue and East 87th Street outside Gracie Mansion, the New York City mayor’s official residence on Manhattan’s Upper East Side. Two men were arrested after police said ignited devices were thrown during opposing protests.
Police said about 20 people attended a protest billed as Stop the Islamic takeover of New York City/Stop New York City public muslim prayer, while a nearby counter-protest billed as Run the Nazis out of New York City/Stand against hate drew about 125 people at its peak.
Police said 18-year-old Emir Balat, who was part of the counter-protest, lit and threw an ignited device in the area. The device landed in the crosswalk at East 87th Street and East End Avenue after witnesses saw flames and smoke as it moved through the air. It struck a barrier and went out a few feet from officers.
Police said Balat then ran south on East End Avenue toward East 86th Street and got a second device from 19-year-old Ibrahim Kayumi. Tisch said Balat lit the second device while running, then dropped it on the west side of East End Avenue between East 88th and East 87th streets.
Officers took both men into custody at the scene, Tisch said. She said the encounter was captured on NYPD Argus cameras.
Before Sunday’s update, Tisch said a preliminary examination and X-ray imaging showed what appeared to be jars wrapped in black tape with nuts, bolts and screws attached. She said each device was slightly smaller than a football.
The NYPD said Balat and Kayumi remain in custody. Authorities are working with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York and the FBI through the Joint Terrorism Task Force.
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