A terror scare erupted in America’s tourist hotspot when suspected homemade bombs packed with nuts, bolts, and screws were hurled toward a crowd.

The devices were tossed during dueling protests late Saturday morning near Gracie Mansion, the mayor’s residence on Manhattan’s Upper East Side in New York City.

NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said investigators are still working to determine whether the devices were functional explosives or hoaxes, adding the information released so far is early and could change as the investigation develops.

Police say the first protest began around 11 a.m. near Gracie Mansion. The demonstration — titled “Stop the Islamic Takeover of New York City, Stop New York City Public Muslim Prayer” — drew about 20 participants and was organized by individuals associated with January 6 defendant Jake Lang.

A counter-protest nearby called “Run the Nazis out of New York City, Stand Against Hate” drew roughly 125 people at its peak. Officers separated the two groups into designated protest areas, but tensions escalated shortly before noon.

At 12:15 p.m., police say a protester associated with the Lang demonstration used pepper spray against counter-protesters and was arrested.

Fast forward 20 minutes. The situation intensified.

Police say an 18-year-old counter-protester identified as Amir Balat lit and hurled an ignited device toward the protest area. Witnesses reported seeing flames and smoke trailing the device as it flew through the air before striking a barrier and extinguishing just feet from police officers.

Balat then ran from the scene, where investigators say he obtained a second device from a 19-year-old man tentatively identified as Ibrahim Nick.

Police say Balat lit that device while running before dropping it nearby. Officers quickly moved in, secured the area and took both men into custody. The incident was captured on NYPD surveillance cameras.

WATCH: NYPD tackle man who allegedly set off a “homemade smoke bomb.” Police are now ordering everyone to clear the area.@Bodittle | @TPUSA pic.twitter.com/lUnciJLJ25

— FRONTLINES TPUSA (@FrontlinesTPUSA) March 7, 2026

Bomb squad technicians responded to examine the devices. Tisch said early inspections suggest the objects appeared to be jars wrapped in black tape, slightly smaller than a football, packed with nuts, bolts, and screws and fitted with a hobby fuse that could be ignited.

Investigators are still working to determine whether the devices were functional improvised explosive devices or hoaxes, as it remains unclear whether they contained explosive material.

Both devices were transported by the bomb squad to the department’s Rodman’s Neck facility for further testing and analysis.

Police established a safety perimeter and searched the surrounding area for additional hazards, using canine units and manually inspecting garbage cans, vehicles, and nearby locations.

In total, six arrests were made in connection with the events. Those arrests include the two men accused of handling and deploying the devices, the protester who used pepper spray earlier in the demonstration, and additional individuals charged with disorderly conduct and obstructing traffic.

Some on social media are claiming Balat or Nick yelled “Allahu Akbar,” though that has not been confirmed by authorities.

Tisch praised officers who rushed toward the danger as the situation unfolded.

“I always speak about the police running toward the danger when everyone else runs away,” the commissioner said. “Let me be clear — that happened today.”

“I am grateful that there were no injuries associated with the incident,” she added.

Tisch said she has remained in contact with Mayor Zohran Mamdani throughout the day. Authorities say there is currently no indication the incident is connected to ongoing hostilities involving Iran, though the investigation remains active.

Watch as @NYPDPC and NYPD executives brief the media on an ongoing investigation. https://t.co/FgTRZHumPV pic.twitter.com/MKsui1817S

— NYPD NEWS (@NYPDnews) March 7, 2026

Frontlines TPUSA reporter Bronson Alford told The Daily Wire that the counter-protesters from “Drive the Nazis out of New York” were not your average demonstrators.

“The protesters weren’t normal protesters; they were ANTIFA and their goal was to hurt as many conservative journalists as they could,” Alford told The Daily Wire. Alford said things escalated when protesters started screaming “Bomb, bomb, bomb.” His surroundings began to fill with smoke saying it smelled like something had been ignited.

U.S. President Donald Trump welcomed Latin American leaders to Florida on Saturday to launch a new coalition against drug cartels, telling officials their countries had allowed gangs to seize territory and joking that he had no time to learn their languages.

Trump framed the effort as an aggressive campaign to confront drug cartels, citing them as a primary reason for ramping up U.S. involvement in Latin America, including a pressure campaign against Venezuela that culminated in the January capture of President Nicolas Maduro. At one point, Trump suggested the United States could use missiles against cartel leaders if partners requested it.

He also singled out Mexico as the center of cartel activity and predicted major political change in Cuba, saying the country was “very much at the end of the line” and repeating previous statements that Cuban officials are negotiating with him and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

At least a dozen leaders from Central America, South America and the Caribbean joined the “Shield of the Americas” summit, where Trump signed a proclamation launching the coalition.

“Leaders in this region have allowed large swaths of territory in the Western Hemisphere to come under the direct control of transnational gangs, and they’ve run areas of your country,” Trump said. “We’re not gonna let that happen.”

In an opening speech that ran more than 30 minutes, Trump also touched on topics far beyond drug cartels, including Iran, Ukraine, Pakistan and India, political endorsements, Dominican sugar, building battleships, and the importance of interpreters.

Trump joked about language differences between himself and the mostly Spanish-speaking group of leaders. “I’m not learning your damn language,” he said. “I don’t have time.”

Rubio, a son of Cuban immigrants, later delivered brief remarks in English and Spanish, while Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth echoed Trump’s stance.

“I only speak American,” Hegseth joked.

Trump has pushed to build a coalition of regional partners around a more forceful approach to combating drug cartels and organized crime. Saturday’s event also gave him an opportunity to project strength closer to home as the war with Iran escalates and threatens to push up global oil and gas prices.

Earlier in the day, Trump said Iran would be “hit very hard” on Saturday and that he was considering widening the areas and groups of people targeted, without providing details.

Among those who attended the summit were Argentine President Javier Milei, Chile’s President-elect Jose Antonio Kast and Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele, whose gang crackdown, criticized by human rights groups, has become a model for parts of Latin America’s right.

Politicians from across the region have toured Bukele’s sprawling “mega-prison”, where the United States last year deported more than 200 Venezuelans without trial.

Also in attendance was Honduran President Nasry Asfura, who narrowly won a disputed election with Trump’s backing, and Ecuador’s President Daniel Noboa, who has echoed parts of Trump’s economic agenda and recently announced joint operations with the U.S. in a military crackdown on drug trafficking.

Many of the leaders share Trump’s hardline view of crime and migration, favoring crackdowns over deeper social fixes and private business over the state. Their rise reflects a broader rightward turn in parts of Latin America at a time when the region is being pulled between Washington and Beijing.

Trump did not mention China specifically but warned that the United States would not allow “hostile foreign influence” to gain a foothold in the Western Hemisphere, including in the Panama Canal, a key global freight route.

The comments, while not explicit, come as Washington increasingly views Latin America through the lens of strategic competition with Beijing.

China’s trade with the region reached about $518 billion in 2024 and Beijing has extended more than $120 billion in loans to governments across the Western Hemisphere, according to Ryan Berg of the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

China’s growing footprint — from satellite tracking facilities in Argentina to a Chinese-backed port in Peru and economic support for Venezuela — has long troubled U.S. officials.

In response, the Trump administration has pressed governments across the region to curb Beijing’s role in ports, energy projects and other strategic infrastructure.

(Reporting by Nandita Bose in Miami, Florida, David Brunnstrom in Washington and Sarah Morland in Mexico City; Additional reporting by Simon Lewis in Washington and Natalia Siniawski in Mexico City, Editing by Sergio Non, Himani Sarkar, Alex Richardson and Alistair Bell)