N.Y.C. Mayor Zohran Mamdani Speaks Out About Explosive Device Ignited Outside of His Home amid Anti-Islam Protest

Two people have been arrested in connection with the March 7 incident involving the improvised explosive device

New York City officials are addressing a serious incident that occurred near the residence of Zohran Mamdani, the mayor of New York City. Authorities say an improvised explosive device was ignited during a protest that took place close to his home.

Two suspects are in police custody in connection with the ignition of the explosive at an anti-Islam protest organized by Jake Lang, a right-wing influencer, on Saturday, March 7. Lang, a pardoned Jan. 6 rioter, named the protest “Stop the Islamic Takeover of New York City.” He has not been charged.

Mamdani, who is Muslim, addressed the “disturbing” incident that took place outside of Gracie Mansion — the official N.Y.C. mayoral residence where he lives with wife Rama Duwaji — in a statement shared on his social media accounts on Sunday, March 8. Neither Mamdani nor Duwaji were home at the time.

“Yesterday, white supremacist Jake Lang organized a protest outside Gracie Mansion rooted in bigotry and racism. 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,” the mayor said, adding that “what followed was even more disturbing.”

Mamdani continued, “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.”

The N.Y.C. mayor then thanked the New York Police Department (NYPD) officers “who acted quickly to keep New Yorkers safe.” His administration, he concluded the statement, “is closely monitoring the situation and I remain in close contact with our Police Commissioner.”

New York City Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch first confirmed Sunday that a real explosive, not a hoax device, was deployed at the protest outside of Mamdani’s Manhattan residence.

Tisch also confirmed that police “quickly apprehended” two individuals — Emir Balat, 18, and Ibrahim Kayumi, 19 — at the protest in connection with the incident. They were arrested and are in police custody, she said. As of Sunday evening, they have not been charged.

“The NYPD Bomb Squad has conducted a preliminary analysis of a device that was ignited and deployed at a protest yesterday and has determined that it is not a hoax device or a smoke bomb. It is, in fact, an improvised explosive device that could have caused serious injury or death,” said Tisch. “Further analysis will be conducted, including on a second device.”

Law enforcement sources told PEOPLE the two men accused of throwing the devices told investigators they were inspired by watching ISIS videos online.

In a statement shared with PEOPLE, a spokesperson for the FBI — which is working with the NYPD and U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York via the agencies’ Joint Terrorism Task Force — said that: “two suspicious items were recovered from the property of Gracie Mansion.”

“While there is not a threat to public safety, the FBI and the NYPD remain vigilant,” the agency said.

The FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force has taken the lead on the investigation.

In an email to PEOPLE, the NYPD also said they have “identified a suspicious device in a vehicle on East End Avenue between 81st Street and 82nd Street.”

“NYPD officers have frozen the area around the vehicle and are conducting limited evacuations of buildings in the vicinity while the Bomb Squad assesses and removes the device,” the NYPD continued, adding in an update that they have since “safely removed the suspicious device from the area for further testing, and those who were evacuated are now allowed to return to their residences.”