New York police say device thrown near anti-Islam protest was explosive
FBI investigates after two suspicious devices were thrown near a protest led by a far-right influencer opposed to public Muslim prayer
A home-made explosive thrown near anti-Islam protesters outside the New York mayor’s home was a viable device “that could have caused serious injury or death”, police said on Sunday.
Two suspicious devices were thrown by a man identified by police as Emir Balat near the protest on Saturday led by a far-right influencer to oppose public Muslim prayer.
An Agence France-Presse correspondent at the scene heard Balat shout “Allahu akbar” (“God is the greatest”) during the incident, which is under investigation by counterterrorism detectives.
“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 smoke bomb. It is, in fact, an improvised explosive device (IED),” the New York Police Department (NYPD) said in a statement on Sunday.
Police had said on Saturday that the devices were jars wrapped in tape and containing nuts, bolts and screws – typical components of an IED.