Arrest Made After Controversial NYC Snowball Fight

An arrest has been made in connection with a controversial snowball fight in Manhattan. The NYPD detained 27-year-old Gusmane Coulibaly on Thursday, accusing him of injuring two officers with snow and ice during the widely filmed melee in Washington Square Park during Monday's blizzard, the New York Times reports. He was charged with assault; police say they're still looking for three other men, believed to be between the ages of 18 and 20, in connection with the same incident.

What began as a huge, social media-promoted snowball fight turned tense when officers arrived to manage the crowd and were hit by increasingly large snowballs, according to police and videos from the scene. Two officers were treated at a hospital for neck and face injuries. Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch called the conduct "disgraceful" and "criminal" Monday and said police were investigating. In what the BBC describes as Mayor Zohran Mamdani's "first major row" with police unions, he faced backlash after suggesting the snowball-throwers shouldn't face charges.

• "I've seen the videos of kids throwing snowballs at NYPD officers in Washington Square Park," the mayor said in a post on X on Tuesday morning. "Officers, like all city workers, have been out in a historic blizzard, keeping New Yorkers safe and cars moving. Treat them with respect." He added, "If anyone's catching a snowball, it's me," referring to his decision to reopen schools on Tuesday instead of giving students a second snow day. Mamdani later said the incident appeared to be a "snowball fight that got out of hand," but he didn't think criminal charges were needed.

Police Benevolent Association president Patrick Hendry slammed Mamdani's response as a "complete failure of leadership," the BBC reports. "The mayor has sent a disgraceful message to every police officer who serves this city, and a dangerous message to every person who might be looking to attack a police officer in the future." Vincent Vallelong, president of the Sergeants Benevolent Association, said: "Today it is snowballs. Tomorrow it could be rocks, bottles, or worse." Mamdani, speaking to reporters on Wednesday, praised the NYPD's response to the blizzard but said he won't be "banning snowball fights or organized snowball fights," NBC New York reports.