Alleged Bomber Behind NYC Terror Plot Is A Former Sneaker Reseller

Over the weekend, two young men were arrested in New York City when they threw a bomb in front of Zohran Mamdani’s residence, Gracie Mansion. While some thought it was an assassination attempt on Mayor Mamdani, others said it was for known white supremacist Jake Lang (who was “protesting” the mayor for being Muslim). Now, new information about one of the would-be assassins is being revealed, and it’s quite interesting.

According to the New York Times, 18-year-old Emir Balat was taken into custody for his role in the attempted bombing of Gracie Mansion, and it seems like the Isis-inspired teenager was your average sneaker reseller just a few years ago. At the age of 13, a young Balat was programming sneaker bots to eat up merchandise on release days and reselling them with the help of his father, who would drive him around to pick up kicks and move them for more than $200 a pop.

Needless to say, the sneaker reselling market crashed in recent years.

“On limited-edition runs, Mr. Balat sometimes cleared $200 or $300 a pair,” writes the New York Times, but “Nike started mass releasing, and instead of making $50 he was making $10 to $20 a pair.”

So Balat began selling contractor supplies online to make ends meet and was actually getting good reviews from happy customers. Then things went left, and Balat went down a disturbing road, which ultimately led to the events that unfolded on March 7.

The New York Times reports:

But by mid-February, Mr. Balat suddenly stopped listing items for sale. Soon, prosecutors say, he started planning something darker. On a chilly afternoon in early March, security cameras at a fireworks store a couple of miles from his home captured him pulling into the parking lot in a black Honda with New Jersey plates. He bought 20 feet of slow-burning fuse, prosecutors said.

Five days later, the authorities say, Mr. Balat, 18, and another man who lived near him drove a black Honda over the George Washington Bridge into Manhattan. They parked a few blocks from Gracie Mansion, the official residence of New York City’s mayor, Zohran Mamdani, where an anti-Muslim protest was getting underway on March 7.

See social media’s reactions to Balat going from a sneaker reseller to a alleged terrorist below.