Six people have been arrested after explosive devices were thrown during unrest outside the residence of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, prompting a bomb squad response and a terrorism investigation, authorities said.
According to New York City Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch, two of those arrested are accused of handling and igniting improvised explosive devices during the incident, which unfolded near the mayor’s home on East End Avenue and East 87th Street in Manhattan, as cited by Business Standard.
The devices were described as jars wrapped in black tape with nuts, bolts and screws attached, fitted with hobby fuses.
Protest and counter-protest escalate into chaos
The disturbance began around 11 a.m. during a demonstration organised by conservative influencer Jake Lang outside the mayor’s residence. Police said around 20 people attended the protest, while a nearby counter-protest drew roughly 125 people at its peak.
Tensions escalated shortly before noon when a participant affiliated with Lang’s group allegedly used pepper spray against counter-protesters. The individual was later arrested, police said.
Authorities said the situation worsened when an 18-year-old man lit an explosive device and threw it toward the protest area. The object landed in a crosswalk near officers.
Witnesses reported seeing smoke and flames before the device struck a barrier and extinguished.
Police said the same individual later obtained another device from a 19-year-old, ignited it and dropped it on East End Avenue before both suspects were taken into custody.
Bomb squad and federal investigators join probe
Bomb squad technicians secured the devices and transported them in a containment vessel for further examination to determine whether they were operational explosive devices or hoaxes.
Commissioner Tisch said authorities do not believe Mayor Mamdani or his wife, Rama Duwaji, were at home at the time of the incident. The investigation is being carried out by the New York City Police Department (NYPD) along with the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force.
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Mayor’s office condemns protest
As per the Business Standard report, Joe Calvello, a spokesperson for the mayor, described the gathering as “despicable and Islamophobic” and criticised the organisers.
Calvello said Mayor Mamdani had spoken with Commissioner Tisch regarding the ongoing investigation. Mamdani, who took office earlier this year, is New York City’s first Muslim mayor.
