Trending: High School Student Pursues Dream After Being Falsely ID'd as Possible Terrorist by New York Post

By John Waller

Salaheddin Barhoum, one of the New York Post’s “Bag Men” who was falsely labeled as a Boston Marathon bombing suspect last April, has set up a GoFundMe account to raise money to run at track nationals.

“People know me from the news and some have a bad image of me,” he wrote on his fundraising page, “but I’m just a human chasing the dream.”

Barhoum, a Revere High School student, wrote he wants to attend the national meet with his friend Tarik, who is the best high jumper in their conference, the Northeastern Conference.

“I love track so much,” he wrote.

Barhoum, a Moroccan American, had raised $280 of his $1,000 goal as of Friday afternoon.

“I don’t have a job to get money from and my family doesn’t have a lot of money to help me,” he wrote. “We have until March 1st to make [our] dream come true.”

The New York Post falsely indicated Barhoum, then 16, and his 24-year-old friend Yassine Zaimi as suspects in the days after the bombing.

See Barhoum’s GoFundMe account >>