“All I know is I want to start terror, bro,” Kayumi said in the recording. “I want to petrify these people.”
The two ISIS-inspired bombing suspects who allegedly threw homemade bombs at right-wing protesters outside New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s residence were on a dashcam video discussing their plans while on their way to Manhattan.
18-year-old Emir Balat and 19-year-old Ibrahim Kayumi were indicted on Tuesday for allegedly throwing homemade devices on March 7 at a protest organized by right-wing activist Jake Lang. In a dashcam recording while they were driving from Pennsylvania to Manhattan to carry out the attack, the pair were heard talking about Lang, saying they hoped he would be “split in half.” They also discussed deploying explosives in a cafe if their plans failed, according to the indictment.
"All I know is I want to start terror, bro,” Kayumi said in the recording. “I want to petrify these people.”
“Oh yeah, what do you think, are they going to remove the airplanes for us… over New York? Are they going to stop them? If we do the attack and the bombs go off and everything,” Balat replied.
“First call, they’re going to be like this is us targeting [Individual-1],” Kayumi responded, referencing Lang.
Balat also said he hoped to target “the government” and “civilians also.” He detailed the fact that he put enough of the explosive triacetone triperoxide to kill 8 to 16 people, or as many as 60 in a crowded area. Ballast said he “can’t wait for that bomb to go off and his [Lang’s] freaking head, his body to get split in half, bro, dead.”
The pair is accused of throwing the homemade explosive devices at protesters and counterprotesters outside Mamdani’s home. The bombs did not detonate, and police arrested Balat and Kayumi shortly afterward. According to the New York Post, Balat reportedly told officers after being apprehended, “This isn’t a religion that just stands when people talk bad about… our prophet. We take action! We take action!” He added, “If I don’t do it, someone else will come and do it.”
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