The news cycle emerging after the ISIS-inspired attempted bombing of anti-Islam protest and counter-protests outside New York’s mayoral residence has been disappointing, to say the least. There’s been rampant disinformation about both the target of the attack and the attackers, and an accompanying slew of corrections. CBS has taken a different path, choosing to highlight the heroes that have since emerged.
Watch this wonderful profile of the heroes as aired on the CBS Evening News on Wednesday, March 11th, 2026:
A bright spot amidst the terrible coverage of the attempted ISIS bombing at Gracie Mansion; @CBSEveningNews' profile of the hero @NYPDNews officers who went above and beyond, Chief Aaron Edwards and Sgt. Luis Navarro. pic.twitter.com/xFX3NjtPFD
— Jorge Bonilla (@BonillaJL) March 12, 2026
TONY DOKOUPIL: Chief Aaron Edwards and Sergeant Luis Navarro are two heroic New York City Police officers who were just steps away from a smoking improvised bomb on Saturday, an attempted terror attack, according to the FBI. And they jumped right into action, their pictures going viral in the process. CBS National Correspondent Jericka Duncan spoke with them today about that life or death moment.
JERICKA DUNCAN: A chaotic scene erupted Saturday when a homemade bomb was thrown during a protest outside the residence of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani. 46-year-old Assistant Chief Aaron Edwards jumped into action. This picture captured his bravery.
What in the heck were you thinking?
AARON EDWARDS: Catch the bad guy. That is it, catch the bad guy. I am very impressed that I cleared that barrier. I was just laser focused on, you know, trying to catch this guy, and there was nothing that was going to stand in my way.
DUNCAN: And what you can't see on camera, but just as impressive, the response from 38-year-old sergeant Luis Navarro.
You went toward the actual homemade device which was lit.
LUIS NAVARRO: Yeah, so in that moment, I didn't think of anything. To me, it was to try to save as many lives as possible.
DUNCAN: But you then learned that TATP is in this. This is a volatile substance that has been used in terror attacks. How are you processing that?
NAVARRO: The only thing that went through my mind is: this could have been it. You know, that…
DUNCAN: You said this could have been it.
NAVARRO: This could have been it.
DUNCAN: Chief Edwards says the path to this moment started with the 9/11 attacks.
EDWARDS: I saw just police and first responders rushing to save people, and that inspired me to take the test.
DUNCAN: Would you do it again?
EDWARDS: Yes.
NAVARRO: Yes.
DUNCAN: Without reservation?
EDWARDS: Without reservation.
NAVARRO: Without reservation.
DUNCAN: And we cannot get enough of that viral image of Chief Edwards. I asked him about some of the comments and read one of them to him that said “he got to be from New York with the way he hopped over that barrier.” Tony, it turns out, he's from Queens.
DOKOUPIL: That’s New York. Jericka Duncan for us in New York. Jericka, thank you very much. Appreciate it.
This profile brings refreshing relief to the onslaught of nonsensical coverage we’ve witnessed so far, whether it’s the constant references to the adolescent jihadis as “Pennsylvania teens”, or the gaslighting intended to convey that Mayor Mamdani was the intended target. This report tries to correct that by putting the spotlight where it belongs: on the heroes of that day.
Special kudos to Jericka Duncan, who let the officers tell their stories in their own words. The nation needed to know that Chief Aaron Edwards was inspired by the brave NYPD officers that rushed into the Twin Towers on September 11th, 2001, 23 of which gave their last, full measure of devotion alongside 37 of their PAPD brethren and 343 New York firefighters. Likewise, the nation needed to see Sgt. Luis Navarro’s selfless willingness to place himself in harm’s way by standing directly over the improvised explosive device, and hear Navarro describe what that felt like.
The heroism of these men embodies a particular strain of American excellence that appears to be making a long-needed comeback. And we are thrilled to see that CBS is willing to platform that. The media hall monitors can continue to cry in their half-caf no-foam soy lattes.
