New York City police temporarily shut down streets and closed Carl Schurz Park on Tuesday after a suspicious device was reported near Gracie Mansion, authorities said.
In an initial advisory, the NYPD said East End Avenue between East 85th and East 87th streets, as well as East 86th Street between York Avenue and East End Avenue, were closed to both vehicular and pedestrian traffic. Carl Schurz Park was also closed as officers investigated.
The department later issued an update: "The device in Carl Schurz Park has been cleared and determined to be non-threatening,” the NYPD said in a post on X, adding that the all clear had been given.
Fox News' CB Cotton reported that NYPD officials said the item was determined to be non-hazardous following an on-scene assessment.
Authorities said that the person who reported the device acted in accordance with the department’s public safety messaging.
“This was an instance of everyday New Yorkers following a clear message: If you see something, say something. Call 888-NYC-SAFE,” police said.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said Tuesday that a suspicious device found in Carl Schurz Park near Gracie Mansion was determined to be non-threatening.
“Earlier today, a suspicious device was discovered in Carl Schurz Park, near my home at Gracie Mansion,” Mamdani wrote on X, adding that the NYPD “responded immediately and secured the area.”
“Thankfully, the device has been determined to be non-threatening,” he said, thanking NYPD officers and Bomb Squad members for their response.
Police had temporarily closed nearby streets and the park as a precaution before issuing the all clear.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt on Tuesday condemned what authorities described as an alleged ISIS-inspired terror plot in New York City, calling the attempted attack “absolutely despicable.”
Speaking during the White House press briefing, Leavitt addressed a reporter’s question about the bombing attempt and whether a partial Department of Homeland Security shutdown raised concerns about homeland security or intelligence monitoring of potential sleeper cells in the United States.
“It was absolutely despicable to see that attack in New York City,” Leavitt said.
She said that the FBI is leading the investigation and that the Department of Justice and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York have announced charges against Emir Balat, 18, and Ibrahim Kayumi, 19.
“I know they won’t rest until justice is sought in this case,” she added.
{{#rendered}}Two NYPD officers are being hailed as heroes after authorities said they thwarted an alleged ISIS-inspired terror attack outside New York City’s Gracie Mansion.
Chief Aaron Edwards and Sgt. Luis Navarro were honored by Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch during a press conference recognizing their actions. The ceremony came after officials said the officers intervened when explosive devices were dropped at a protest near the mayor’s residence Saturday.
A dramatic photo of Edwards leaping over a barricade amid the chaos was released on social media, quickly drawing attention.
“Some heroes wear capes — Chief Aaron Edwards wears blue,” the NYPD wrote in a post accompanying the stark black-and-white image.
According to police, Edwards vaulted a barrier and tackled Emir Balat, 18, after Balat allegedly hurled an improvised explosive device toward a group of protesters and was preparing to throw another device allegedly handed to him by Ibrahim Kayumi, 18.
Authorities said Edwards’ swift response disrupted what could have been a devastating attack.
The FBI on Tuesday said the search at a self-storage facility in Pennsylvania revealed explosive residue.
“Yesterday’s search of the storage unit believed to be connected the Gracie Mansion incident revealed explosive residue,” the agency’s post on X read. “FBI Special Agent Bomb Technicians and the local bomb squads conducted a controlled detonation to ensure the safety of law enforcement and others in the area.”
The FBI thanked all law enforcement agencies who helped throughout the night.
Joann Ariola, a New York City council member who represents District 32, wrote on X that the suspected terror attack over the weekend has made it clear that the city needs more law enforcement to stop “these madmen before it’s too late.”
Ariola also said that she is concerned that Mayor Zohran Mamdani cutting upcoming NYPD classes won’t help the issue.
“We were lucky that nobody was harmed this time, but this incident makes it very clear: radicalized, ISIS-inspired terrorists are here, and law enforcement needs to crack down on the networks that support these madmen before it's too late - and this mayor slashing the upcoming NYPD classes is the wrong way to go about this,” she wrote. “We need more police on our streets, not less!”
Mamdani is looking to get the Big Apple on a tighter budget, and seems to see cuts to the New York Police Department as a way of getting the city back on track. He canceled a proposal his predecessor Mayor Eric Adams’ made at the end of his term to hire 5,000 new officers.
{{#rendered}}The Middletown Township Police Department in Pennsylvania confirmed that the FBI safely set of “controlled detonations” at a self-storage facility as part of an ongoing federal investigation.
Police said in a statement that residents near the facility “may have heard several loud bangs during the overnight hours.”
“As part of the ongoing federal investigation that took place yesterday, the FBI safely disposed of explosive materials that were recovered during the execution of search warrants,” police said. “These controlled detonations were conducted by trained personnel and were carried out in a controlled manner.”
“While the noise may have been startling to some residents, there was no danger to the public at any time," police continued.
The department added that the operation at the storage facility has concluded.
Reporting by Fox News National Correspondent CB Cotton.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries on Tuesday released his first response on the apprehension of two suspected terrorists near Gracie Mansion in New York City over the weekend.
The Democrat, who represents the 8th District of New York, thanked police and the FBI for their work arresting and charged the two suspects.
“Our City is deeply appreciative of the NYPD, FBI and members of the Joint Terrorism Task Force for their swift work to apprehend, investigate and charge two suspected terrorists who violently attempted to deploy explosive devices at the recent Gracie Mansion protests,” Jeffries said.
“Thankfully, this act of terrorism failed,” he continued. “Every single person responsible for this act of terror must be criminally prosecuted and held accountable to the fullest extent of the law.”
The statement marked Jeffries' first words on the matter, coming three days after the incident happened.
Fox News Digital captured images showing a law enforcement raid at a Public Storage facility in Langhorne, Pennsylvania, where authorities executed a search warrant, on Monday.
The FBI on Monday said it was conducting a court authorized search of a storage unit in Pennsylvania related to the New York City terror probe.
Investigators set off homemade improvised explosive devices (IEDs) in a “controlled detonation” at the Public Storage facility in Langhorne overnight, a federal source told Fox News.
Fox News Digital’s Greg Wehner and Fox News National Correspondent CB Cotton contributed to this report.
{{#rendered}}Fox News Digital captured images showing the family homes of Emir Balat, 18, and Ibrahim Kayumi, 19, Bucks County, Pennsylvania, on Monday.
Both men are U.S. citizens. One suspect’s parents are naturalized U.S. citizens from Turkey, while the other suspect’s parents are naturalized U.S. citizens from Afghanistan.
Balat and Kayumi were being held without bail after a court appearance Monday on charges that include attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization and using a weapon of mass destruction.
Fox News Digital’s Greg Wehner and Fox News National Correspondent CB Cotton contributed to this report.
The two suspects charged in an alleged ISIS-inspired terror attack in New York City both attended high schools in Pennsylvania.
Emir Balat, 18, has not attended in-person classes at Neshaminy High School since September 2025, having been enrolled in the Neshaminy School District's Virtual Academy, the district’s superintendent, Jason Bowman, confirmed in a statement.
“At this time, we have no information indicating any security concerns at the high school or at any of our district schools related to this situation” Bowman said.
The other suspect, 19-year-old Ibrahim Kayumi, is a resident of Newtown, Penn., and a 2024 graduate of Council Rock North High School in the Council Rock School District, the school district confirmed.
On Monday, Balat's attorney, Mehdi Essmidi, said his client is a high school senior with "complicated stuff going on" in his personal life.
“I believe he’s 18 and he doesn’t have any idea what he’s doing,” Essmidi said.
He added that he didn’t believe Balat and Kayumi had known each other long.
Reporting by Fox News National Correspondent CB Cotton and Fox News’ Tamara Gitt.
The investigation into an alleged ISIS-inspired act of terrorism in New York City over the weekend led investigators to a Pennsylvania storage facility on Monday, where they set off homemade improvised explosive devices (IEDs) in a “controlled detonation” overnight, a federal source told Fox News.
The FBI on Monday said it was conducting a court authorized search of a storage unit in Pennsylvania related to the investigation into two teens who allegedly threw IEDs outside New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s home on Saturday.
A federal source told Fox News that the search warrant was executed at a Public Storage on South Flowers Mill Road in Langhorne, Pennsylvania.
No further details were immediately available.
Reporting by Fox News National Correspondent CB Cotton.
{{#rendered}}Coverage for this event has ended.