Police detained a man after he threw what officers described as “ignited devices" near far-right protesters demonstrating outside the residence of New York’s mayor on Saturday, AFP correspondents reported.
NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said the devices contained nuts, bolts and screws along with a fuse, but it was not yet clear whether they were functional improvised explosive devices or hoax imitations.
She added that there was no indication the incident was linked to the ongoing hostilities in Iran.
Far-right influencer Jake Lang had been demonstrating outside Gracie Mansion, the residence of mayor Zohran Mamdani, who is Muslim, protesting alleged “Islamification" and calling for an end to “public Muslim prayer" in New York.
Police said around 20 people attended the protest, while counter protesters numbered about 125.
A man wearing a dark hooded sweatshirt and beige cargo pants was handed a device wrapped in tape and emitting smoke by another activist. He then dropped it near a line of police officers before jumping over a crash barrier.
The same man also threw a similar device close to the group of protesters gathered around Lang. “Witnesses reported seeing flames and smoke as it travelled through the air before it struck a barrier a few feet from police officers," Tisch said during a briefing, identifying the suspect as Amir Balat, 18.
“Mr Balat then…gets a second device from a man. Mr Balat lights the device and starts running with it. He then drops the device."
Police, who were heavily deployed at the protest, detained him and the other man moments later.
“The bomb squad responded and…based on a preliminary examination and X-ray imaging, the devices which were a bit smaller than a football appeared to be a jar wrapped in black tape — importantly with nuts, bolts and screws along with a hobby fuse that could be lit," Tisch added.
Source: World News in news18.com, World Latest News, World News
