Attorney for NYC bomb-throwing suspect claims 'no reason to believe' Emir Balat, Ibrahim Kayumi knew each other ahead of attack

An attorney representing one of the two men charged with an attempted ISIS-inspired attack in New York City over the weekend has claimed that his client did not know the other defendant charged in the case.

Speaking with reporters, the attorney representing Emir Balat, Mehei Essmiei, said, "I’m saying they’re from different parts of Pennsylvania, they’re in different age groups, they’re not known to each other. They did not live together. They do not have family or school ties."

"There is no reason to believe they knew each other prior to this incident, and I don’t know how well they knew each other at the time of this incident," he added.

Balat, 18, and Ibrahim Kayumi, 19, are both from Pennsylvania. Kayumi’s family owns a $2.25 million home in Newtown, PA, while Balat’s parents live in Langhorne, PA in a $653,000 house. The two towns are just under 5 miles apart.

The Council Rock School District confirmed on Monday that Kayumi graduated from Council Rock High School North in 2024. From the location of Balat’s parents’ home, which was raided by the FBI, it is likely he would have attended Neshaminy High School.

Balat and Kayumi have been charged with five counts in relation to the attempted attack: attempted provision of material support and resources to a designated foreign terrorist organization, use of a weapon of mass destruction, transportation of explosive materials, interstate transportation and receipt of explosives, and unlawful possession of destructive devices.

Balat allegedly threw an IED that failed to detonate outside the New York City governor’s mansion on Saturday. He then attempted to throw a second device that he had gotten from Kayumi, who was nearby. A third device was found in a car connected to the men.