2 Teens Charged With Terrorism In UES Bomb Plot, Officials Say

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — Federal prosecutors have filed terrorism charges against two Pennsylvania teens on Monday afternoon, following an attempted bombing outside of the Gracie Mansion over the weekend.

According to NYPD Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch, both suspects — Emir Balat, 18, and Ibrahim Kayumi, 19 — have been accused of attempting to provide material support to ISIS using a weapon of mass destruction, as well as transporting explosive materials, interstate transportation and receipt of explosive materials, and unlawful possession of destructive devices.

The attempted bombing began after tensions escalated between protesters and counter-protesters outside of Gracie Mansion on the Upper East Side around noon on Saturday, Mayor Zohran Mamdani said at Monday morning's press conference.

Mamdani lives at Gracie Mansion with his wife, Rama Duwaji. Gracie Mansion is located at 181 East End Ave. near East 88th Street.

The initial protest was an anti-Islam protest led by conservative influencer Jake Lang that drew about 20 people, and a counterprotest that drew roughly 125 people to East End Avenue and 87th Street, Tisch said.

First, a device was thrown toward the protestors, but the device hit a police barricade and extinguished itself. Tisch described the explosive as a jar wrapped in black tape with nuts, bolts and screws, and a hobby fuse that could be lit, about the size of a football.

When the first suspect, Balat, took off running, Kayumi handed him a second device, which Balat lit and dropped between 87th and 86th streets, Tisch has said. Both were chased and apprehended at the scene, Tisch said.

In the new legal complaint released Monday afternoon, investigators allege the defendants were inspired by ISIS propaganda and motivated by extremist ideology, Tisch said.

"At the precinct, after being advised of his Miranda rights and waiving those rights, Kayumi said in recorded post-arrest statements that he had watched ISIS propaganda on his phone and that his actions that day were partly inspired by ISIS," Tisch said.

Preliminary testing found that at least one device contained triacetone triperoxide — a volatile explosive sometimes referred to as "mother of Satan" that has been linked to multiple terrorist attacks worldwide, Tisch said.

"[Kayumi] also told investigators that he had hoped to carry out an attack even bigger than the Boston Marathon bombing, which he noted resulted in only three deaths," Tisch said.

The investigation is ongoing, and law enforcement is executing search warrants, tracing the defendants’ movements into New York City, and cataloging explosive-related evidence recovered from a vehicle and residences in Pennsylvania, Tisch said.

In connection with the ongoing investigation, New York police said that they identified a third explosive device in a vehicle on East End Avenue between 81st and 82nd streets, which was removed after civilians were evacuated from the area.

Tisch said that both suspects traveled from Pennsylvania to New York the morning of the attempted bombing. Balat is from Langhorne, Pennsylvania, and Kayumi is from Newtown, Pennsylvania, according to officials.

"Make no mistake, what happened this weekend was incredibly dangerous, and the ongoing investigation will be exhaustive," Tisch warned.

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