A homemade explosive device was hurled during protests outside Gracie Mansion in New York City, the official residence of Mayor Zohran Mamdani. It prompted arrests and an FBI investigation into the incident.
The mayor and his wife, Rama Duwaji, were at home when it happened and were unharmed. Around 12:38 p.m. on Saturday, March 7, a small device was thrown toward a protest area outside the mansion. NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said it was smaller than a football. It was a jar wrapped in black tape, contained nuts, bolts, and screws, and was also fitted with a hobby fuse.
Witnesses said they saw flames and smoke as it flew through the air. It soon struck a barrier and extinguished a few feet away from police officers at the scene. Tisch confirmed that the NYPD’s bomb squad ruled out the possibility that it was a prank. In her words, it was an improvised explosive device (IED) that “could have caused serious injury or death.”
Later, a second device was also removed from a vehicle parked on East End Avenue.
BREAKING: A device ignited outside Zohran Mamdani’s mayoral residence yesterday during an anti-Islam protest and counterprotest was confirmed to be an improvised explosive, New York City police say. https://t.co/2uZMcVzBBo
— Breaking News (@BreakingNews) March 8, 2026
The protest was organized by far-right influencer Jake Lang. The event was titled “Stop the Islamic Takeover of New York City, Stop New York City Public Muslim Prayer.” For context, Mamdani is New York City’s first Muslim mayor.
Emir Balat, 18, was arrested for throwing one of the devices. Ibrahim Kayumi, 19, was arrested for allegedly supplying it. Both are from Bucks County, Pennsylvania — Newtown and Langhorne, respectively — and the FBI also raided their homes. Balat is a U.S. citizen; his parents emigrated from Turkey. Kayumi’s family came from Afghanistan; both his parents are naturalized citizens.
Kayumi’s father told the New York Times that his son never came home Saturday afternoon.
“If he’s going to be five minutes late, he calls.”
Four others were also arrested after the unrest, including Ian McGinnis, 21, who pepper-sprayed some people. The FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force has thus joined the NYPD and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York.
Governor Kathy Hochul thanked first responders and promised accountability.
– Trump aginst him
– White House against him
– Capitalists against him
– Israel against him
– American Media spreads false propaganda and hate against him
– 26 Billionaires Spent $22 Million to Stop him
But he creates history, this is Zohran Mamdani ❤️ pic.twitter.com/jqRhrSFfoA
— Gabbar (@Gabbar0099) March 8, 2026
Mayor Mamdani called the act “reprehensible” and said his administration was monitoring the situation. As one observer put it on X (formerly Twitter), “An IED at a protest could have caused real tragedy,” and it nearly did.
NEXT UP: Zohran Mamdani Defends Wife Rama Duwaji as Her Like on Pro-Palestine Post Surfaces Online
