The two Pennsylvania teens charged with attempting to carry out what authorities described as an ISIS-inspired attack in New York considered other targets before driving into Manhattan late Saturday morning with homemade bombs, law enforcement sources told ABC News.
Investigators searching a storage unit in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, where the teens are from, discovered a notebook in which the teens wrote about soft targets like shopping centers, the sources said. No specific target was mentioned.
The NYPD said the teens brought improvised explosives to Gracie Mansion, the official residence of the mayor of New York City, where an anti-Muslim protest clashed with a counter demonstration.
A federal criminal complaint includes photos of suspects Emir Balat and Ibrahim Kayumi allegedly preparing improvised explosive devices during a demonstration, March 7, 2026, outside Gracie Mansion, the residence of New York City Mayor Zorhan Mandami.
Department of Justice
The notebook and other evidence suggested Emir Balat and Ibrahim Kayumi had been planning some kind of an attack for at least a week, the sources said.
Video ABC News obtained appears to show one of the teens entering a fireworks store in Penndel, Pennsylvania, on March 2 and making a purchase.
“The single item purchased was a 20 ft. length of consumer fireworks safety fuse. The total spend was under $7.00,” Phantom Fireworks’ William Weimer said in an email to ABC News, identifying the man in the video as Emir Balat.
A man is arrested after throwing a hand-made smoke grenade at a protest near Gracie Mansion, on March 7, 2026, in New York.
Ryan Murphy/Getty Images
The FBI carried out controlled detonations of devices in the storage unit that contained explosive residue
Balat and Kayumi are being held on terrorism charges, use of a weapon of mass destruction and other offenses. They have not yet entered a plea.
Neither Mayor Zohran Mamdani nor his wife, Rama Duwaji, were in Gracie Mansion when the incident occurred, the mayor said Monday.
“They’re suspected of coming here to commit an act of terrorism,” Mamdani said in a statement at the time. “Let me say this plainly: Anyone who comes to New York City to bring violence to our streets will be held accountable in accordance with the law.”
