Two suspects, Emir Balat, 18, and Ibrahim Kayumi, 19, both from Pennsylvania, were arrested on the scene after allegedly throwing an improvised explosive device (IED) during demonstrations outside Gracie Mansion in New York City on Saturday.
Verified video footage, analyzed by the CBS News Confirmed team, shows Balat yelling “Allahu Akbar” just as he allegedly threw the ignited device.
According to law enforcement sources cited by the New York Post, the pair have self-radicalized in recent years and made trips to locations known as potential terror-training hotspots: Balat spent more than three months in Istanbul in 2025, while Kayumi traveled to Istanbul and Saudi Arabia in 2024, plus a visit to Melbourne, Australia, in 2019. The sources described them as “pro-Muslim fanatics” and self-radicalized ISIS supporters.
The same New York Post sources reported that after their arrest, the suspects confessed to investigators they had viewed ISIS propaganda videos and targeted the agitators with the explosive because they felt the group’s actions insulted their faith. (These details remain preliminary and are attributed to anonymous law enforcement sources.)
In an update posted Sunday afternoon, the Bureau announced that “preliminary analysis confirms one of the devices ignited and deployed by the subjects was an IED explosive,” with testing still ongoing for other “devices” that were recovered at the scene.
The FBI stated that its Joint Terrorism Task Force is now working alongside the NYPD and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York to gather more information on the suspects and their potential motives. A federal terrorism investigation is underway, with terrorism charges pending.
NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch released further details, stating the Bomb Squad determined the ignited device was “not a hoax device or a smoke bomb” but “in fact, an improvised explosive device that could have caused serious injury or death.”
In a follow-up press briefing, Tisch described how Balat lit and threw the first device toward the demonstration area at around 12:38 p.m., where it struck a barrier and was extinguished a few feet from officers. Balat then allegedly took a second device from Kayumi, lit it, ran, and dropped it before both were arrested on the scene.
Tisch described the devices as “a jar wrapped in black tape, with nuts, bolts and screws, along with a hobby fuse that could be lit”—each roughly the size of a football.
Preliminary sources indicate at least one contained TATP (triacetone triperoxide), a highly volatile explosive nicknamed “Mother of Satan“ and favored by terrorists for its instability, as reported by the New York Post. The explosives are now being sent to an FBI lab in Quantico, Virginia, for further analysis, per CBS News.
The incident occurred during competing demonstrations near East End Avenue and East 87th Street, steps from Gracie Mansion, the official residence of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani.
Approximately 20 people attended the initial rally associated with Jake Lang, while the counterdemonstration drew roughly 125 people.
Police separated the groups as tensions escalated around noon. The devices were thrown toward the opposing agitators (the Lang group) rather than directly at the mansion, though its proximity heightened concerns. No injuries were reported.
Six people were arrested overall: Balat and Kayumi for the devices, one for pepper spray, and three for disorderly conduct and obstruction.
In a statement on X, Mayor Mamdani condemned the original demonstration as rooted in “bigotry and racism” and called the explosive attempt “reprehensible” and “the antithesis of who we are.”
NYPD Commissioner Tisch stated there is no current indication that the incident is connected to the ongoing conflict with Iran. A terrorism investigation remains active as of Sunday night, with no major new developments (formal charges, releases, or finalized motives) reported beyond the preliminary ISIS-related leads.