PENNDEL, Pa. (WPVI) — One of the two Bucks County men charged in an alleged ISIS-inspired terror plot outside the home of New York City’s mayor was reportedly seen on video days before the incident, shopping at a fireworks store.
Video obtained by Action News shows 18-year-old Emir Balat inside Phantom Fireworks in Penndel, Pennsylvania, on March 2, according to Bill Weimer, vice president and general counsel at Phantom Fireworks. He said Balat purchased a 20-foot consumer firework safety fuse for $6.89.
IMAGE: Emir Balat, one of the suspects charged in a NYC terror plot, was allegedly seen on video shopping at a Bucks County fireworks store days before the planned attack.
Following news of the incident and learning the suspects’ names, Weimer said the company checked its records to see if either of the suspects had shopped there before. The company contacted the FBI, which then sent a subpoena asking for the sales record and video footage, he added.
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ABC News has confirmed the video is now part of the federal investigation involving Balat and the second suspect, 19-year-old Ibrahim Kayumi, both from Bucks County.
Investigators say the two men attempted to detonate improvised explosive devices in Manhattan on Saturday during chaotic counterprotests against an anti-Islamic demonstration. According to a criminal complaint, both suspects told police they were inspired by the Islamic State group.
Balat told investigators he hoped to achieve something “even bigger” than the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing, which killed three people and injured hundreds. Officials said the homemade devices, wrapped in bolts and nails, failed to explode.
Late Monday, FBI investigators carried out at least three controlled detonations at a Public Storage facility on South Flowers Mill Road in Middletown Township. Federal agents said explosive residue was discovered inside one of the storage units.
Only Action News was there as investigators set off the detonations a few minutes apart around 1:30 a.m.
Video from Chopper 6 shows law enforcement digging holes in a nearby grassy area. A law enforcement source familiar with the process says this is where the detonation process would’ve taken place, especially when dealing with highly unstable explosives.
The storage facility reopened on Tuesday. Some customers were startled by the heightened activity.
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“Kind of astonishment to come down here and see what’s going on because I have a storage locker here,” said Michael Coyne of Langhorne. “But with the Iran thing going on, it’s not entirely unexpected.”
The FBI has not released additional details about what was found in the storage unit.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt on Tuesday called the attack “absolutely despicable” and said government investigators and prosecutors won’t rest until the perpetrators are brought to justice.
Much remains unknown about the motives, planning and relationship between Balat and Kayumi.
Court documents show Emir Balat’s father, Selahattin Balat, is a native of Turkey who was granted asylum in the United States in 1998 and later became a U.S. citizen. In a 2009 bankruptcy filing, he listed his occupation as painter and said he had three children.
Emir Balat is a senior at Neshaminy High School in Langhorne. A school spokesperson said he enrolled in a virtual program in September and had not attended in-person classes since.
His lawyer, Mehdi Essmidi, said his client had “complicated stuff going on” in his personal life, without elaborating. Essmidi said he did not believe the two young men had known each other for long.
Kayumi is from Newtown, about 4 miles (6.5 kilometers) north of Langhorne. He graduated in 2024 from Council Rock High School North, according to a school spokesperson.
His attorney did not speak to reporters following a court hearing Monday and declined to comment when reached by The Associated Press.
Online records show that Kayumi’s parents have owned and worked at multiple Popeyes fast food locations, including in Philadelphia, Brooklyn and Atlantic City.
His mother filed a missing person report with police Saturday, the day of the protest, saying her son had not been seen since that morning, according to the complaint.
Prosecutors, police and FBI officials say Balat and Kayumi joined a throng of counterprotesters at a small, anti-Muslim rally organized by far-right activist Jake Lang. A Christian nationalist, Lang is a critic of New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani, a Democrat and the first Muslim to hold the office.
Journalists photographed Balat hurling a device, smoking with a lit fuse, that was later found to contain the explosive TATP. The object, which also contained nuts and bolts, extinguished itself without harming anyone.
Balat then dropped a second object near some police officers and tried to run, but was tackled and arrested, according to a court complaint.
Balat and Kayumi were being held without bail after their court appearance on charges that include attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization and using a weapon of mass destruction. They were not required to enter a plea.
New York Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said Monday there were no indications that the attack was connected to the ongoing war in Iran, but said the city remained on a heightened state of alert.
The Associated Press and CNN contributed to this report.
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