Pair charged with ISIS-inspired attempted bombing outside NYC mayor’s home

New details this morning about a frightening scene outside the New York City mayor's residence

Police now say this device thrown during protests near Gracie Mansion was not a smoke bomb or hoax

but an improvised explosive device that could have caused serious injury or death

The incident happened Saturday during dueling demonstrations outside the home of New York City Mayor Zoran Mamdani

the city's first Muslim mayor. A small anti-Muslim protest organized by conservative

influencer Jake Lang gathered outside the mansion, drawing a much larger counter-protest

Police say tensions escalated quickly. At one point, a protester from the Lang group allegedly

sprayed pepper spray into the counter-protest crowd, triggering fights. Then moments later

investigators say an 18-year-old counter-protester lit and threw a device toward the protest area

Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch initially described the object as a jar wrapped in black tape

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

The device struck a barrier and did not explode, but investigators now say it was, in fact, an improvised explosive device

Two men from Pennsylvania, Amir Bala and Ibrahim Kayoumi, were arrested at the scene and remain in custody

Authorities say the investigation is now being handled by the NYPD, the FBI, and federal prosecutors through the Joint Terrorism Task Force

Investigators are also examining a second device and searching for any additional materials linked to the suspects

Mayor Mamdani was in the residence at the time, but was not hurt