FBI Launches Investigation After Two Devices Found outside NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani's Residence

A quiet stretch of Manhattan's Upper East Side rarely becomes the center of a national security scare. But over the weekend, investigators say a protest outside Gracie Mansion suddenly turned into a high-stakes bomb investigation…

What began as a tense political protest outside New York City's mayoral residence suddenly turned into something far more dangerous. Within moments, authorities realized the objects being thrown into the crowd were not fireworks, not smoke bombs, but potential explosives.

And now, federal agents are scrambling to understand just how close New York came to a devastating attack.

A Protest That Quickly Escalated

The drama unfolded Saturday, March 7, 2026, outside Gracie Mansion, the official home of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and his wife. At first, it looked like another loud but typical protest scene in the city...

But investigators now say the situation escalated into something far more sinister. According to reporting by CBS News, two explosive devices thrown near the mayor's residence contained materials capable of killing or maiming numerous people.

The alarming discovery has since triggered a full federal terrorism investigation, with the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force now leading the case. To understand how things spiraled so quickly, you have to rewind to the protest itself.

New York City Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch told reporters that an anti-Islam protest had been organized outside Gracie Mansion. The demonstration was linked to individuals associated with Jake Lang, a far-right influencer and pardoned January 6, 2021, rioter.

But the protest didn't remain one-sided. More than 100 counter-protesters soon arrived, creating a tense and volatile standoff between opposing groups.

And that's when two young men allegedly arrived with something far more dangerous than protest signs. Authorities say 18-year-old Emir Balat and 19-year-old Ibrahim Kayumi, both from Pennsylvania, were angered by the anti-Islam protest.

Inside the Devices Investigators Recovered

Investigators believe the pair brought homemade bombs to the demonstration with the intention of causing harm. What happened next unfolded in chaotic seconds…

Videos verified by investigators show a man appearing to shout "Allahu Akbar" — meaning "God is Most Great" — moments before an "ignited device" is thrown toward the scene.

The person allegedly throwing that device was Balat, and the first device narrowly avoided disaster. Police say the explosive struck a crosswalk barrier and extinguished itself, landing just a few feet from NYPD officers.

If it had detonated, the results could have been catastrophic. Commissioner Tisch later described the device as "a jar wrapped in tape, importantly with nuts, bolts and [sic] screws along with a hobby fuse."

Those details reveal a chilling intent. The nuts and bolts were meant to act as fragmentation shrapnel, dramatically increasing the potential for injury. But the danger didn't stop there, as authorities say Balat then ran away from the scene and retrieved a second device from Kayumi.

He allegedly lit that device and began running with it before dropping it. Fortunately, that explosive also failed to detonate. Both suspects were quickly arrested by the police.

But the investigation revealed something even more disturbing…

Experts later determined the devices were not hoax devices or smoke bombs. Instead, they were confirmed to be actual improvised explosive devices (IEDs). And they were built with frightening sophistication.

According to law enforcement sources, the bombs consisted of sports drink bottles filled with explosive material, placed inside glass jars. The ignition system was equally alarming, as officials say the fuse was connected to an M80-type firework. Even more concerning was the chemical used inside the devices.

Investigators say the bombs contained triacetone triperoxide, commonly known as TATP. The compound is a volatile explosive often synthesized from acetone and hydrogen peroxide, appearing as a white crystalline powder.

The investigation took another unexpected turn the following day. On Sunday, authorities discovered another suspicious device inside a vehicle parked on East End Avenue, roughly three blocks south of the park surrounding Gracie Mansion.

The discovery triggered limited evacuations of nearby buildings while the NYPD Bomb Squad moved in. The device was eventually safely removed for further testing, officials said.

The Suspects' Backgrounds Come Under Scrutiny

Federal terrorism charges are now pending, and search warrants are expected to be executed in Pennsylvania and New Jersey as investigators continue gathering evidence.

Authorities are also examining whether extremist ideology played a role, as sources told CBS News that investigators are exploring whether at least one of the suspects may have been inspired by ISIS extremist messaging.

The suspects' travel histories are now under scrutiny. Balat reportedly left the United States for several months in 2025 and traveled to Istanbul from May 6 to August 26, 2025.

He most recently returned to the U.S. from Turkey in January of this year. Kayumi also traveled internationally, as records show he spent several weeks in Istanbul during July and August of 2024, and also visited Saudi Arabia in late March that year.

Federal agents are also now examining the pair's online communications, and investigators have begun interviewing family members. Balat's parents were born in Turkey and became naturalized U.S. citizens in 2017.

Balat himself is a U.S. citizen who has been living with his family in a large two-story home in Pennsylvania. A woman at the residence confirmed to CBS Philadelphia that he lived there. Kayumi's family background is also part of the investigation.

His parents are originally from Afghanistan and became naturalized U.S. citizens in 2004 and 2009. Authorities say it is still unclear whether Kayumi was living with them at the time of the incident.

Several additional arrests were made during the protest. Police say 21-year-old Ian McGuiness was taken into custody for allegedly using pepper spray on counter-protesters. Meanwhile, three others were arrested on disorderly conduct and obstruction charges.

Mayor Mamdani Breaks His Silence

Amid the chaos, Mayor Mamdani addressed the frightening incident in a public message. In a statement posted to X, he condemned both the hate surrounding the protest and the attempted violence.

He wrote that the anti-Islam protest was "rooted in bigotry and racism" and said such hate "has no place in New York City."

"Violence at a protest is never acceptable," Mamdani said in the post. He added that attempting to use an explosive device "is not only criminal, it is reprehensible and the antithesis of who we are." The mayor also praised the NYPD officers who responded to the chaos.

Zohran Mamdani also confirmed that his administration is closely monitoring the situation and remains in contact with the police commissioner. For now, federal investigators continue piecing together what exactly led to the attempted attack outside the mayor's home.

And while the devices failed to detonate, authorities say the threat was very real, which leaves one chilling question hanging over the entire investigation: How different would this story be if even one of those devices had exploded?