Man Accused In Terror Plot Bought Supplies At Local Fireworks Store

Surveillance footage from a Penndel Borough fireworks store shows one of the two young men charged in a failed New York City terror plot purchasing a fuse days before the attempted attack.

A man who appears to be Emir Balat, 18, of Middletown Township’s Langhorne section, was captured on video last Monday at Phantom Fireworks on Bellevue Avenue in Penndel.

According to Alan Zoldan, an executive vice president at Phantom Fireworks, Balat spent about 10 minutes in the store around 12:45 p.m.

Balat, whose name was on the transaction, bought a roll of fuse for $6.89, Zoldan told NBC 10.

The video appears to show Balat provide his ID and later pay for the fuse with cash.

The store is located a short distance from a Public Storage facility on South Flowers Mill Road where FBI agents executed a search warrant Monday.

In a statement, the FBI confirmed that investigators discovered “explosive residue” inside a unit that was connected to the men accused in the failed improvised explosive devices (IEDs) attack.

Late Monday night, FBI bomb technicians conducted three controlled detonations of chemicals and other materials found at the storage site. The blasts were powerful enough to shake nearby homes.

Balat, a student at Neshaminy High School, and Ibrahim Kayumi, 19, face federal charges, including use of a weapon of mass destruction and providing material support to ISIS.

Court documents state that the pair traveled from Pennsylvania to New York City last Saturday morning.

Law enforcement officials allege the defendants intended to target an anti-Muslim protest scheduled near Gracie Mansion, the official residence of Mayor Zohran Mamdani.

The pair is charged with deploying IEDs that failed to detonate.

On Sunday, investigators located a third potential device inside a car linked to the defendants near the scene in New York.

The NYPD reported that one recovered device contained triacetone triperoxide (TATP).

Known as the “Mother of Satan,” the highly volatile explosive has been used in several international terrorist attacks.

After his arrest by the NYPD, Balat allegedly shouted: “This isn’t a religion that just stands when people talk about the blessed name of the prophet … We take action! We take action!”

Kayumi reportedly told the NYPD he was affiliated with ISIS and was “partly inspired” by the group’s propaganda, which he had viewed on his phone.

On Sunday evening, FBI tactical teams executed search warrants at Balat’s family home on Tina Drive in Middletown Township and Kayumi’s family residence on Clymer Street in Newtown Township.

Both men remain in federal custody as the FBI New York Joint Terrorism Task Force and the NYPD continue their investigation.

Authorities are asking anyone with information to contact the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI or submit a tip online at tips.fbi.gov.