Riots broke out near New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s official residence as an anti-Muslim protest was taking place outside, when a counterprotester against the Stop Islam Takes Over New York City event lit a fire and hurled a device into the crowd.
This came after someone in the group used pepper spray on a counter-protest.
Six people were arrested on Sunday in connection with the incident, and New York Police Department (NYPD) Commissioner Jessica Tish said two of them were charged with handling and igniting improvised explosives, Bloomberg reported.
How did the situation escalate?
The incident occurred late Saturday morning when a person at an anti-Islam protest associated with conservative influencer Jack Long pepper-sprayed a counter-protest group, The Associated Press reported.
Afterwards, someone at the counter-protest lit and threw a device that NYPD Chief Tish said was smaller than a football at protesters.
Tisch said the device hit a barrier and extinguished itself “a few feet away from the officers,” according to the AP, adding that the same man then ran away and got another device, which he dropped on the ground. The commissioner said she did not believe Mamdani or First Lady Rama Dhuaji was home.
What device is that?
The devices contained nuts, bolts and screws as well as fuses, AFP quoted Tisch as saying. The NYPD chief said they appeared to be jars wrapped in black tape that contained nuts, bolts and screws, as well as hobby fuses that could be set off, Bloomberg reported. She said it was unclear whether they were functioning devices or hoaxes.
However, witnesses said the object erupted in flames and smoke before hitting a guardrail and extinguishing itself, Bloomberg reported. A bomb squad was deployed following the incident and personnel transported the items into containment vessels for further testing to determine if they were functional IEDs or hoaxes.
Mamdani spokesman Joe Calvillo said the mayor had spoken with Tish about the ongoing investigation into the incident by the NYPD and FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force.
 commissioner Jessica Tisch said two arrested were accused of handling and igniting improvised explosives.){kind=link}