One of the alleged ISIS-driven bombing suspects 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.
Before Emir Balat, 18, was arrested on federal charges for hurling a pair of homemade IEDs at an anti-Islam protest outside Zohran Mamdani’s mayoral residence on the Upper East Side Saturday — the Pennsylvania teen was known as a nifty self-made businessman, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported.
Gracie Mansion bombing suspect Emir Balat, 18, was once an internet-savvy entrepreneur who made money coding sneaker-buying bots. REUTERS
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 — squeezing profits from pawning off the shoes for hundreds of dollars, according to the outlet.
A Roblox account reportedly belonging to Balat showed that he used the platform — which has been ensnared in terror-recruiting and child-grooming controversies — to build his sneaker resale business.
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.
Garry Pozdnyakov, a business owner who used to sell sneakers in Bucks County and was one of Balat’s clients, described the terror suspect as a professional who appeared to be a “normal.”
“He was a normal kid,” Pozdnyakov, 25, told the outlet. “He shook my hand and asked about business. I never got signs of an extremist.”
Pozdnyakov would meet him and his father, who ran a construction business, at a Wawa parking lot to swap sneakers, he recalled.
Garry Pozdnyakov, who formerly sold sneakers in Bucks County and was one of Balat’s customers, described the bombing suspect as a professional who appeared to be a “normal kid.” AP
Balat chillingly said he hoped the failed attack would be deadlier than the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing. AP
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.
His account is now locked and displays a header with a Quranic verse that says, “He released the two seas, meeting [side by side],” the outlet reported.
It is unclear how the teen fell down a rabbit hole of alleged extremism — his parents are both naturalized US citizens from Turkey.
Balat and his alleged accomplice Ibrahim Kayumi, 19, joined a counterdemonstration on Saturday against far-right agitator Jake Lang, who organized the “Stop the Islamic Takeover of New York City” protest outside Mamdani’s residence — the first Muslim mayor in New York City’s history.
Footage captured Balat tossing one of the devices, packed with an explosive material known as “Mother of Satan,” near cops before being handed another bomb by Kayumi, prosecutors and sources said.
The bombs failed to detonate as two hero cops swiftly took down the teens, who sources said self-radicalized and adopted the terror group ISIS’s cause.
Earlier this month, surveillance cameras also recorded Balat coughing up $6.89 for a 20-foot consumer firework safety fuse Phantom Fireworks in Penndel, 6ABC reported.
It is unclear how well the teens knew each other before the attempted terror plot.
Following his arrest, Balat chillingly said he hoped the failed attack would be deadlier than the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing that killed three people, prosecutors alleged.