PENNDEL, Pa. (WPVI) — 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, Pa., 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.
IMAGE: Court filing reveals Emir Balat and Ibrahim Kayumi at the scene of the attempted NYC terror attack.
The NYPD said the teens brought improvised explosives to Gracie Mansion, where an anti-Muslim protest clashed with a counter-demonstration
The notebook and other evidence suggested suspects Emir Balat, 18, and Ibrahim Kayumi, 19, had been planning some kind of an attack for at least a week, the sources said.
Video obtained by Action News appears to show one of the teens entering a Phantom Fireworks store in Penndel, Pa., on Monday, March 2, and making a purchase.
READ MORE | NYC terror plot: Suspect reportedly seen buying fuse in Bucks County
Suspect charged in NYC terror plot allegedly seen shopping at Bucks County fireworks store
“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 that identified the man in the video as Emir Balat.
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.
RELATED | Explosive residue found in Bucks Co. storage unit connected to New York terrorism case, FBI says
Before the notebook was found in the Bucks County storage facility, FBI investigators carried out at least three controlled detonations on the property at 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.
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.
READ MORE | Complaint says Bucks Co. men who brought explosives to NYC said they were inspired by Islamic State
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 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.
Balat and Kayumi are being held on a terrorism charge, use of a weapon of mass destruction and other offenses. They have not yet entered a plea.
The Associated Press and ABC News contributed to this report.
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