Teens considered other targets before ISIS-inspired attack in NYC: Report
The two Pennsylvania teens who allegedly tried to carry out an ISIS-inspired attack at the New York City mayor’s mansion considered other targets first, according to a new report from ABC News.
Law enforcement sources told the outlet that evidence shows Emir Balat, 18, and Ibrahim Kayumi, 19, had been planning an attack for some time. They’re accused of throwing IEDs outside Gracie Mansion during a protest last weekend.
Neither Mayor Zohran Mamdani nor his wife were there at the time.
New details about attack plan
Investigators who searched a storage unit in the teens’ hometown reportedly found a notebook filled with details about soft targets like shopping centers, though no specific location was named.
A source told ABC that evidence suggests Balat and Kayumi had been planning some kind of attack for at least a week.
New video also appears to show Balat at a Phantom Fireworks store in Penndel, Pennsylvania, on March 2. The company’s vice president told ABC in an email that Balat bought a 20-foot length consumer fireworks safety fuse.
The FBI said it carried out controlled detonations of devices in the storage unit that contained explosive residue.
Balat and Kayumi are now being held on multiple charges, including terrorism counts and use of a weapon of mass destruction.
They have not yet entered a plea.
Hero cops speak out
Meanwhile, two New York Police Department (NYPD) officers are being hailed as heroes for chasing down the suspects, saying they were just doing their job.
During an interview Wednesday, CBS News correspondent Jericka Duncan asked plainly, “What in the heck were you thinking?”
“Catch the bad guy,” said Chief Aaron Edwards, who leaped over a barricade to pursue the suspects. “That is it. Catch the bad guy.”
Edwards jokingly added, “I am very impressed that I cleared that barrier.”
Sgt. Luis Navarro risked his own life, running toward one of the devices, which had already been lit. His heroic action was not caught on camera like Edwards.’
“In that moment, I didn’t think of anything,” Navarro said. “It, to me, was to try to save as many lives as possible.”
Navarro told reporters earlier Wednesday, “Everything I’ve learned in my whole career culminated to that one moment.”
When both were asked if they’d “do it again,” neither hesitated to say, “Yes.”
Ella Rae Greene, Editor In Chief
