{"id":652282,"date":"2026-03-13T08:43:16","date_gmt":"2026-03-13T08:43:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/652282\/"},"modified":"2026-03-13T08:43:16","modified_gmt":"2026-03-13T08:43:16","slug":"nycs-alleged-isis-loving-wannabe-bomber-was-once-a-clever-online-sneaker-entrepreneur","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/652282\/","title":{"rendered":"NYC’s alleged ISIS-loving wannabe bomber was once a clever online sneaker entrepreneur"},"content":{"rendered":"

One of the alleged ISIS-driven bombing suspects<\/a> accused of unleashing terror on a protest outside of Gracie Mansion was once an internet-savvy entrepreneur who made his money coding sneaker-buying bots, according to reports.<\/p>\n

Before Emir Balat, 18,\u00a0was arrested on federal charges for hurling a pair of homemade IEDs at an anti-Islam protest outside Zohran Mamdani\u2019s mayoral residence on the Upper East Side Saturday \u2014 the Pennsylvania teen was known as a nifty self-made businessman, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported. <\/a><\/p>\n

Gracie Mansion bombing suspect Emir Balat, 18, was once an internet-savvy entrepreneur who made money coding sneaker-buying bots. REUTERS<\/p>\n

By the time he was just 13, Balat programmed a computer system to buy sought-after sneakers online so he could resell them to teens in his hometown of Bucks County<\/a> \u2014 squeezing profits from pawning off the shoes for hundreds of dollars, according to the outlet.<\/p>\n

A Roblox account reportedly belonging to Balat showed that he used the platform \u2014 which has been ensnared in terror-recruiting and child-grooming controversies<\/a> \u2014 to build his sneaker resale business.<\/p>\n

His account on the gaming platform showed no outward signs of radicalization, and his online footprint suggested the teen from Langhorne was fascinated by computers, business, Islam and speaking Spanish, the outlet reported.<\/p>\n

Garry Pozdnyakov, a business owner who used to sell sneakers in Bucks County and was one of Balat\u2019s clients, described the terror suspect as a professional who appeared to be a \u201cnormal.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was a normal kid,\u201d Pozdnyakov, 25, told the outlet. \u201cHe shook my hand and asked about business. I never got signs of an extremist.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pozdnyakov would meet him and his father, who ran a construction business, at a Wawa parking lot to swap sneakers, he recalled.<\/p>\n

Garry Pozdnyakov, who formerly sold sneakers in Bucks County and was one of Balat\u2019s customers, described the bombing suspect as a professional who appeared to be a \u201cnormal kid.\u201d AP<\/p>\n

Balat chillingly said he hoped the failed attack would be deadlier than the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing. AP<\/p>\n

Balat also routinely posted on a Bucks County Exchange Facebook page, listing heavy-duty extension cords, cases of laminate flooring and various home improvement products, The Philadelphia Inquirer said.<\/p>\n

His account is now locked and displays a header with a Quranic verse that says, \u201cHe released the two seas, meeting [side by side],\u201d the outlet reported. <\/p>\n

It is unclear how the teen fell down a rabbit hole of alleged extremism \u2014 his parents are both naturalized US citizens from Turkey<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Balat and his alleged accomplice Ibrahim Kayumi, 19, joined a counterdemonstration on Saturday against far-right agitator Jake Lang, who organized the \u201cStop the Islamic Takeover of New York City\u201d protest outside Mamdani\u2019s residence \u2014 the first Muslim mayor in New York City\u2019s history.<\/p>\n

Footage captured\u00a0Balat\u00a0tossing one of the devices, packed with an explosive material known as \u201cMother of Satan,\u201d<\/a> near cops before being handed another bomb by Kayumi, prosecutors and sources said.<\/p>\n

The bombs failed to detonate as two hero cops swiftly took down the teens<\/a>, who sources said self-radicalized and adopted the terror group ISIS\u2019s cause.<\/p>\n

Earlier this month, surveillance cameras also recorded Balat\u00a0coughing up $6.89 for a 20-foot consumer firework safety fuse Phantom Fireworks in Penndel, 6ABC reported.<\/p>\n

It is unclear how well the teens knew each other before the attempted terror plot.<\/p>\n

Following his arrest, Balat chillingly said he hoped the failed attack would be deadlier than the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing<\/a> that killed three people, prosecutors alleged.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"One of the alleged ISIS-driven bombing suspects accused of unleashing terror on a protest outside of Gracie Mansion…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":652283,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5122],"tags":[5229,7329,94845,133507,5248,405,403,5226,5225,5228,5227,2830,5343,67,586,132,5230,68,1154,2969],"class_list":["post-652282","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-york","tag-america","tag-bombing","tag-gracie-mansion","tag-isis","tag-metro","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-newyork","tag-newyorkcity","tag-ny","tag-nyc","tag-pennsylvania","tag-terrorism","tag-united-states","tag-united-states-of-america","tag-unitedstates","tag-unitedstatesofamerica","tag-us","tag-us-news","tag-usa"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116220985757826368","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/652282","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=652282"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/652282\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/652283"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=652282"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=652282"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=652282"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}