The United States’ recent operations against Iran have brought the typical controversy that goes along with war. But there’s one thing everyone should be able to agree on: the NYPD has some good old-fashioned heroes in its ranks. 

On Saturday, March 7, NYPD officers were working security at a far-right “Stop the Islamic Takeover of New York City” event. The protest, which was held near the residence of Mayor Zohran Mamdani, also attracted counterprotesters. A pair of Pennsylvania men, Emir Balat and Ibrahim Kayumi, joined that crowd and attempted to hurl improvised explosive devices at the opposing group. 

While any terrorist action is bound to draw national attention, it’s the response of the boys and girls in blue that has people around the country talking. After Balat hurled the first bomb and was about to throw a second one handed to him by Kayumi while frightened onlookers scrambled to get away, Assistant Chief Aaron Edwards and Sergeant Luis Navarro leaped into action. 

A photo of Edwards midflight, as he hopped a barricade to reach Balat and tackle him to the ground, has since gone viral. Meanwhile, Navarro hurried to intercept the lit IED that Balat had dropped.

“I saw the device hit the floor and I just ran,” he told the New York Daily News. “I knew that I needed to save lives. So I ran towards the people to make sure that nobody got hurt.”

“I saw the device hit the floor and I just ran. I knew that I needed to save lives.”

Fortunately, the bombs failed to detonate, but the attackers’ intent was clear. After the smoke cleared — literally and figuratively — officers recovered three different devices from the area, at least two of them filled with bolts, screws and other shrapnel, and at least one using triacetone triperoxide (TATP), a dangerous type of homemade explosive favored by ISIS and other IED makers worldwide. 

“These were not hoax devices nor smoke bombs. They were improvised explosive devices that could have caused serious injury or death,” NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said, calling the incident a “planned attack motivated by extremist ideology and inspired by a foreign terrorist organization.” 

She commended the two officers, pointing out that “Assistant Chief Aaron Edwards and Sergeant Luis Navarro … ran toward a lit IED without hesitation and without regard to their own safety, acting as police officers do on instinct and training to protect people they did not know and would likely never meet.” 

Kayumi reportedly told officers that he’d been partaking of ISIS propaganda on his cellphone. Federal prosecutors said Balat claimed he had “pledged allegiance to the Islamic state” and told police he wanted to carry out an attack “bigger than the Boston Marathon bombing.” For a city that still remembers 9/11, it’s surely a sobering reminder of a tragic event that irreparably shaped the history of the U.S.

In fact, Edwards, a 23-year veteran of the NYPD, was originally inspired to become a police officer after witnessing the heroism displayed during 9/11 and its aftermath. He told reporters that he acted on instinct to stop the IED attack, without thought for the potential danger he faced. “A lot of people ask, ‘What was going through your mind? Did you know how serious it was?’ I got to tell you, at the time — no. It was maybe two hours after that it really hits you — this is a lot more serious than we may have initially thought.” 

Navarro, who has been on the force for 11 years, echoed that seriousness, calling the attack “the most extreme situation I’ve ever encountered.” He continued, “We’ve done counterterrorism training. Everything that I’ve learned in my career culminated in that one moment. I don’t think anything’s going to top that.”