ARRESTED: NYPD arrest individual from snowball attack following Mamdani downplaying the incident
NYPD officers arrested 27-year-old Gusmane Coulibaly on Thursday morning in connection with the violent snowball attack on police in Manhattan’s Washington Square Park that occurred during Monday’s historic blizzard.
The incident began as a large, pre-planned snowball fight promoted on social media by the viral outlet Side Talk, drawing dozens of participants into the park amid nearly 20 inches of snow. When officers responded to 911 calls about a disorderly crowd, video footage showed people hurling packed snowballs and chunks of ice at uniformed NYPD personnel, striking several in the head, neck, and face and causing injuries that required hospital treatment. At least two officers were hurt. The NYPD had previously released images of four wanted individuals and classified the acts as criminal assaults rather than harmless play.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani, the democratic socialist, continued to downplay the event even after the arrest. In public statements earlier in the week, he described the scene as “a snowball fight that got out of hand”. He questioned whether participants should face assault-on-a-police-officer charges, saying it “looked like kids having fun.”
His remarks drew sharp rebukes from NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch, who called the conduct “disgraceful,” and from police unions, who demanded felony charges and accused the mayor of undermining respect for officers who had been working around the clock during the storm. The arrest marks the first breakthrough in the case, but detectives are still actively searching for three additional suspects described as males in their late teens to early 20s.
Court records reveal that Coulibaly, who was taken into custody without incident, already faces pending attempted robbery charges from an earlier incident this month in the NYC transit system; he is scheduled to appear in Bronx Criminal Court on March 16.
Police have not released details on his exact role in the park melee, but the arrest comes amid heightened tension between the new mayor and the department. Mamdani’s past 2020 comments labeling officers “racist, evil, wicked and corrupt” have resurfaced, with critics arguing his lenient tone has contributed to a broader erosion of support for law enforcement in the city.
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The case has quickly become an early political test for Mamdani’s administration. While the mayor has praised officers for their storm response in other statements, his handling of this incident has fueled accusations from Republicans and police advocates that progressive leadership continues to prioritize optics over accountability when officers are targeted.
The NYPD investigation remains active, with more arrests expected as detectives review additional video evidence from the chaotic scene.