"Despite NYPD officers separating the groups into designated protest areas, tensions escalated shortly before noon and a protester associated with Lang used pepper spray against counter-protesters, Tisch said. Tisch said there was 'a period of time' between the pepper spray incident and the arrest, as officers at the scene investigated."
"About 30 minutes later, officials said a counter-protester identified as 18-year-old Emir Balat threw an 'ignited device' toward the protest area, landing in the crosswalk of East 87th Street and East End Avenue. Witnesses reported seeing flames and smoke as it traveled through the air, before it struck a barrier and extinguished itself a few feet away from police officers."
"Balat ran south on East End Avenue, toward 86th Street, and retrieved a second device from a 19-year-old man identified as Ibrahim Nikk, according to Tisch. He then lit the second device and started running."
Two opposing protests occurred near East End Avenue and East 87th Street in New York City on Saturday. The initial protest against Islamic prayer in NYC drew approximately 20 participants, while a counter-protest against hate drew roughly 125 participants. NYPD officers separated the groups into designated areas, but tensions escalated when a protester used pepper spray against counter-protesters. Approximately 30 minutes later, 18-year-old Emir Balat threw an ignited device toward the protest area. The device landed in a crosswalk, struck a barrier, and extinguished itself near police officers. Balat then retrieved a second device from a 19-year-old accomplice, lit it, and continued running before dropping it on East End Avenue.
Read at Fox News
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]