FBI finds 'explosive residue' linked to attack near NYC mayor's home

The FBI and local police confirmed the explosive materials were found at a storage unit in Pennsylvania and safely detonated on March 9.

The FBI said on Tuesday, March 10, that it found "explosive residue" at a storage unit in Pennsylvania as part of its investigation into two teenagers charged with throwing homemade bombs during a protest outside the official residence of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani.

In a federal complaint unsealed on March 9, authorities said the teens — Ibrahim Kayumi, 19, and Emir Balat, 18 — told police following their arrests that they were inspired by the Islamic State. The two were taken into custody on March 7 after New York City police said they attempted to ignite two improvised explosive devices, or IEDs, during dueling protests near Gracie Mansion, the Manhattan home of Mamdani, the city's first Muslim mayor.

The teens, who are both from Pennsylvania, were indicted on March 9 on federal charges of attempting to support ISIS and use of a weapon of mass destruction, court records show. Authorities said Balat and Kayumi traveled to Manhattan from the Philadelphia suburbs to conduct the "ISIS-inspired" attack.

Balat, a senior in high school, told investigators he wanted the attack to be "even bigger" than the Boston Marathon bombing in 2013 that killed three people and injured hundreds of others, according to the complaint. Kayumi claimed to be affiliated with ISIS, charging documents state.

The Bucks County Courier Times, part of the USA TODAY Network, reported that the FBI found explosive materials while executing search warrants at a storage unit in Middletown Township, a Philadelphia suburb. The FBI and Middletown Township Police Department confirmed the explosive materials were safely detonated late on March 9.