Emir Balat and Ibrahim Kayumi were detained by police following an investigation in the area
The New York police reported this Sunday (8) that a homemade device thrown by two men on Saturday (7) near anti-Muslim protesters, in front of the city mayor’s residence, was a functional improvised explosive, “which could have caused serious injury or death”.
A man identified by police as Emir Balat threw two suspicious devices near a protest led by a far-right influencer against Muslim prayer in public spaces in the city.
“The New York Police Department’s explosives squad performed a preliminary analysis of the device used yesterday at a protest and determined that (…) it was, in fact, an Improvised Explosive Device (IEA),” the police reported.
Two men were detained after the incident, and remain in custody: Balat and Ibrahim Kayumi, who allegedly handed the artifact to the first.
The incident occurred after far-right influencer Jake Lang organized a demonstration in front of the official residence of the mayor of New York, Muslim Zohran Mamdani. Lang protested against “the Islamization” of the city.
The influencer’s protest brought together around 20 people, while a counter-demonstration attracted around 125.
*AFP
