New York Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch announced Monday that authorities are investigating an attack outside Gracie Mansion as ISIS-inspired terrorism after two young men from Pennsylvania threw improvised explosive devices during weekend protests.

The incident unfolded Saturday around 12:30 p.m. amid clashes between a small anti-Islam demonstration organized by far-right influencer Jake Lang and a larger group of counterprotesters. The anti-Muslim rally, billed as "Stop the Islamic Takeover of New York City," drew about 20 participants, while over 100 counterprotesters gathered nearby.

Tensions escalated when a protester deployed pepper spray against counterprotesters, leading to the arrest of Ian McGuiness, 21. Shortly after, 18-year-old Emir Balat lit and threw the first device toward the protest area. Witnesses reported it produced flames and smoke before striking a barrier and extinguishing a few feet from officers. Balat then retrieved a second device from 19-year-old Ibrahim Kayumi, lit it, and dropped it on the street, where it smoked but failed to detonate fully.

NYPD Bomb Squad tests confirmed the devices as improvised explosives containing triacetone triperoxide, or TATP, along with shrapnel such as nuts and bolts packed into taped jars with hobby fuses linked to M80 fireworks. Tisch stated the devices "could have caused serious injury or death." No one was hurt, and Mayor Zohran Mamdani and his wife remained unharmed.

Balat and Kayumi, both from Bucks County, Pennsylvania, Balat a Neshaminy School District student with Turkish-born parents, Kayumi a recent Council Rock High School graduate with Afghan heritage, were arrested along with three others for disorderly conduct. A third suspicious device, later testing negative for explosives, was found Sunday in their nearby vehicle, prompting evacuations.

The FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force, alongside NYPD and the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York, has taken over the probe. The suspects admitted to ISIS inspiration, with one citing Islamic State videos and resentment over Lang's rhetoric against Muslims. Federal agents conducted searches at their Pennsylvania homes on Sunday. Tisch affirmed, "I can confirm this morning that this is being investigated as an act of ISIS-inspired terrorism." Terrorism charges are pending, and overseas travel by the suspects, including trips to Turkey and Saudi Arabia, is under review.

The episode occurred during Ramadan amid heightened online jihadist recruitment, intensified since the recent U.S.-Iran conflict. Mamdani, New York City's first Muslim mayor since January, condemned the protest as rooted in bigotry but called the explosives "reprehensible." He praised the NYPD's rapid response.

Investigators continue to analyze the devices at the FBI's Quantico lab and scrutinize the suspects' communications.