Two men charged with terror offences after homemade bomb thrown outside NYC mayor’s home. 6 hours ago. Brandon Drenonand. Madeline Halpert,New York City. Two men have been charged with terror offences after police said they attempted to bomb a protest outside the New York City mayor’s home in an attack allegedly inspired by the Islamic State group (IS).. The suspects, 18-year-old Emir Balat and 19-year-old Ibrahim Kayumi, allegedly told police that they aimed for the Saturday attack to be “even larger” than the Boston Marathon bombing in 2013 that left three dead.. New York police say the pair attempted to detonate two explosives outside Gracie Mansion, where Mayor Zohran Mamdani lives. Authorities found a third bomb in their car.. The incident happened during an anti-Islam protest. None of the explosives went off as intended.. Footage of the incident shows one of the suspects being detained just seconds after igniting one of the explosives, which did not detonate.. New York City Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said the two suspect had admitted to being inspired by IS and had watched IS propaganda videos. The two did not have any previous criminal history, she said.. They are facing charges, including attempting to provide material support to IS and using a weapon of mass destruction.. “We were fortunate that the devices used this weekend did not cause the kind of harm that they were certainly capable of causing,” Tischsaid during a news conference on Monday. “But luck is never a strategy. Devices like these have the potential to cause devastating harm.”. Tisch said one of the defendants, Balat, made several statements about IS while being transported to the police station, including saying: “If I didn’t do it, someone else will come and do it”.. Later, she said, Balat allegedly said he hoped the attack would be “even bigger than the Boston Marathon bombing, which he noted resulted in only three deaths”.. That attack, which happened in 2013 as runners were crossing the finish line of the Boston Marathon, left three people dead and hundreds of runners and spectators injured, including many who lost limbs.. During their first court appearance on Monday, the two wore prison jumpsuits and a federal magistrate judge ordered them to be detained until their next court appearance on 8 April.. Following the hearing, Balat’s lawyer said his client is a high school senior and a US citizen with no prior arrests and that he has “complicated stuff going on” in his personal life, the New York Times and Associated Press said.. The BBC has contacted both Balat and Kayumi’s lawyers for comment.. According to court documents, both waived their constitutional rights to remain silent after their arrest.. Balat requested a piece of paper and wrote on it that he pledges allegiance to IS and called for death of nonbelievers or infidels, according to the criminal complaint obtained by the BBC.. Kayumi stated that he was affiliated with IS, watched IS propaganda on his
