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The NYPD has cordoned off a tony Manhattan block near the mayor’s residence amid a continuing probe into a potential terror plot involving improvised, ISIS-style bombs.
According to two NYPD sources, the activity is connected to the investigation into two devices that were recovered during dueling protests outside Gracie Mansion on Saturday.
“Due to ongoing police activity, please avoid the area of East End Avenue between 81st Street and 82nd Street in Manhattan,” the NYPD wrote on X on Sunday.
Earlier Sunday, city officials confirmed that one of the devices was an improvised explosive device (IED) and was capable of causing “serious injury or death.” Investigators are continuing to analyze a second device recovered at the scene.
Three federal law enforcement sources told Fox News that one suspect allegedly shouted “Allahu Akbar” before throwing the IED into the crowd.
Police arrested Emir Balat and Ibrahim Kayumi at the scene.
The devices thrown near Gracie Mansion were allegedly charged with TATP (triacetone triperoxide), retired NYPD inspector Fox News contributor Paul Mauro told Fox News Digital, citing multiple sources.
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“[TATP] is a favorite of real terrorists, and not something two street-level knuckleheads would likely produce,” Mauro said. “This was no M-80 wrapped in nails and tape. It’s very hard to detect, very powerful, and extremely unstable.”
The NYPD Bomb Squad X-rayed the devices and rendered them safe. They are now being transported to Quantico for further analysis, Mauro said.
He also noted that a vehicle registered to a relative of one of the suspects was located in the Upper East Side area.
The incident unfolded Saturday morning near East End Avenue and East 87th Street, steps from Gracie Mansion, the official residence of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani.
Mamdani condemned both the protest and the violence in a statement posted Sunday.
“Such hate has no place in New York City. It is an affront to our city’s values and the unity that defines who we are,” Mamdani wrote. “What followed was even more disturbing. Violence at a protest is never acceptable. The attempt to use an explosive device and hurt others is not only criminal, it is reprehensible and the antithesis of who we are.”
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Fox News’ CB Cotton and Bill Melugin contributed to this report.
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