Improvised explosive device thrown outside Mamdani's New York residence

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+ Fresh Air Wild Card with Rachel Martin It's Been a Minute Planet Money Get NPR+ More Podcasts & Shows Search Newsletters NPR Shop The Best Music of 2025 All Songs Considered Tiny Desk Music Features Live Sessions About NPR Diversity Support Careers Press Ethics Improvised explosive device thrown outside Mamdani's New York residence Police say a device thrown during an anti-Muslim protest outside New York City's Gracie Mansion was an improvised explosive device.

+ National Improvised explosive device thrown outside Mamdani's New York residence March 9, 20264:25 AM ET Heard on Morning Edition By Catalina Gonella Improvised explosive device thrown outside Mamdani's New York residence Listen &middot; 2:01 2:01 Transcript Toggle more options Download Embed Embed "> <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/nx-s1-5741788/nx-s1-9679751" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript Police say a device thrown during an anti-Muslim protest outside New York City's Gracie Mansion was an improvised explosive device. Federal investigators are now involved. Sponsor Message STEVE INSKEEP, HOST: The FBI is launching a terrorism investigation after police said somebody threw explosive devices near the New York City mayor's official residence during a protest on Saturday. WNYC's Catalina Gonella reports.

+ CATALINA GONELLA, BYLINE: On Sunday, NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said at least one of the two devices police recovered at the scene could have caused serious injury or death. Tisch says 18-year-old Emir Balat and 19-year-old Ibrahim Kayumi deployed the devices during protests on the street near Gracie Mansion. One was an anti-Muslim demonstration organized by far-right influencer Jake Lang. The other was a counterprotest. Here's how Commissioner Tisch initially described the devices on Saturday. (SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING) JESSICA TISCH: Based on preliminary examination and X-ray imaging, the devices, which were a bit smaller than a football, appear to be a jar wrapped in black tape, importantly, with nuts, bolts and screws, along with a hobby fuse that could be lit. GONELLA: Tisch says Balat lit and threw the first device toward the protest area. He then allegedly got a second device from Kayumi and dropped it nearby before officers rushed in and arrested them. Four other people were arrested. The FBI's joint terrorism task force is now investigating. Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who is New York City's first Muslim mayor, condemned the initial protest, saying it was, quote, "rooted in bigotry and racism." He also denounced the use of an explosive device as, quote, "reprehensible." Police say the ignited device extinguished itself and no one was injured. On Sunday, the NYPD bomb squad removed a third device from inside a nearby vehicle. Officials described it as suspicious. For NPR News, I'm Catalina Gonella in New York. (SOUNDBITE OF AMERICAN MUSCLE'S "ANDREA") Copyright &copy; 2026 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information. Accuracy and availability of NPR transcripts may vary. Transcript text may be revised to correct errors or match updates to audio. Audio on npr.org may be edited after its original broadcast or publication. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record. Facebook Flipboard Email Read & Listen Home News Culture Music Podcasts & Shows Connect Newsletters Facebook Instagram Press Public Editor Corrections Transcripts Contact & Help About NPR Overview Diversity NPR Network Accessibility Ethics Finances Get Involved Support Public Radio Sponsor NPR NPR Careers NPR Shop NPR Extra Terms of Use Privacy Your Privacy Choices Text Only Sponsor Message Sponsor MessageBecome an NPR sponsor (function () { var loadPageJs = function () { (window.webpackJsonp=window.webpackJsonp||[]).push([[22],{1167:function(e,n,c){e.exports=c(323)},323:function(e,n,c){"use strict";c.p=NPR.serverVars.webpackPublicPath,Promise.all([c.e(1),c.e(2),c.e(3),c.e(4),c.e(84)]).then(function(e){c(3),c(1140),c(116),c(94),c(52),c(493),c(239),c(102),c(104),c(1141),c(143),c(1142),c(238),c(48),c(1143)}.bind(null,c)).catch(c.oe)}},[[1167,0]]]); }; if (document.readyState === 'complete') { loadPageJs(); } else { window.addEventListener('load', function load() { window.removeEventListener('load', load, false); loadPageJs(); }); } })();