FBI finds explosive residue in storage unit after 2 men are charged with
lighting bombs in NYC
[March 11, 2026]
By JAKE OFFENHARTZ and MICHAEL R. SISAK
NEW YORK (AP) — The FBI said Tuesday that it found explosive residue in
a Pennsylvania storage unit as part of an investigation into two men
charged with bringing homemade bombs to a protest outside the home of
New York City’s mayor.
Emir Balat, 18, and Ibrahim Kayumi, 19, told police after their arrests
that they were inspired by the Islamic State group, according to law
enforcement officials and a criminal complaint.
The men live in the Philadelphia suburbs and drove together to New York
City on Saturday to carry out the attack near Gracie Mansion in
Manhattan, officials said.
In response to police questioning, Balat said he hoped to accomplish
something “even bigger” than the Boston Marathon bombing, which killed
three people, the complaint said.
Overnight Monday, FBI bomb technicians conducted controlled detonations
of the explosive residue found at a public storage facility in
Langhorne, Pennsylvania, near where Balat’s family lives, the agency
said.
The explosion resulted in “several loud bangs,” the Middletown Township
Police Department said Tuesday, adding that there was no threat to
residents. The FBI said it has conducted multiple searches in connection
with the investigation.
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.
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Emir Balat, left, and Ibrahim Kayumi, far right, are escorted into
Manhattan federal court in New York, Monday, March, 9, 2026, for
arraignment on charges that include attempting to provide material
support to a terrorist organization and using a weapon of mass
destruction after they were arrested for bringing and throwing
explosives at a protest two days earlier. (Elizabeth Williams via
AP)
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.
On Tuesday afternoon, a park near the mayor’s residence was
evacuated and several surrounding streets were closed as police
investigated reports of a “suspicious device.”
The object was later determined to be nonthreatening.
Mamdani was not home at the time and Gracie Mansion was not
evacuated, a City Hall spokesperson said.
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Associated Press reporter Anthony Izaguirre contributed to this
report.
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