Police officers secured the scene after the explosion. Photo by Geoffrey Croft, A Walk in the Park.
An 18-year-old stepped on some sort of explosive in Central Park on Sunday, triggering a blast that severely injured his left leg. Connor Golden, the 18-year-old, was visiting the city from Fairfax, Virginia. He was walking in the southeastern section of the park around 11 a.m. when the explosion occurred, according to the Times.
Police told the Times the explosive device appeared to be “an experiment with fireworks.”
Lt. Mark Torre, the commander of the Police Department’s bomb squad, said he believed the man had encountered homemade fireworks that did not appear to be designed to explode from contact.
“Their goal is to make a loud noise,” Lieutenant Torre said, “maybe make a flash.”
The material, he said, could have been left behind days ago.
Doctors reportedly had to amputate the Golden’s leg below the knee.
"Shock-Sensitive" Homemade Fireworks Caused Tourist To Lose Foot In Central Park https://t.co/oylwGCr912 pic.twitter.com/vuvCAB2HaM
— Gothamist (@Gothamist) July 4, 2016
This was not caused by a device, but was some type of explosive material and likely homemade fireworks. 2/5
— Bill de Blasio (@BilldeBlasio) July 3, 2016
Sorry but this is hogwash.
As someone who spent their teenage years creating homemade fireworks I can say this of the official story, nope.
To blast off a foot requires more gunpowder than a “pineapple” or “blockbuster” or 1/8stick of dynamite. Which means it’s a lot of gunpowder. Also, a bad wick or lame fuse doesn’t get triggered after 40minutes, they just don’t, let alone a full day or two.
Someone took the booster charge out of claymore there, period.
Perhaps you should apply to work for the NYPD bomb squad. Because they disagree with you.
https://gothamist.com/2016/07/05/central_park_explosion.php
But you’re the expert since you made a few homemade fireworks.
Debbie do police departments’ communications always have to tell the exact truth? Because I assure you that they do not and never have.
To me it would also seem very odd that a single firework was found and never exploded days after being left behind. I would love to see evidence of this having happened elsewhere. Of all the firework celebrations over decades, never heard of it
I can settle this. And once again offer my Services. I too was a fireworks experimenteur in my youth. But my credentials go beyond the usage to major sale and trafficking (I hope that there is a Statute of Limitations).
Please inquire as to consulting fees.
Was there another article describing the details of the homemade ‘fireworks?’ I must have missed something.
This NY Time article was so poorly written. They should have interviewed the friends instead of the vendors. I don’t even know what this means…the police told Mr. Matin to leave the area so he went home to Queens? Didn’t they just mean ‘move the cart?!’
Mohammad Matin, 58, left his cart selling ice cream, pretzels, soda and churros when the police told him to leave the area. He went home to Jackson Heights, Queens, leaving the cart unattended for hours.
“I was really upset,” Mr. Matin said. “Today is Sunday, a very big day for business. I lost my business.”
I hope Connor Golden comes through this ok and that he’s still able to go to college this year. There’s going to be a long rehabilitation period ahead for him. 🙁
What does this mean?
Someone took the booster charge out of claymore there, period.
The comment meant that it was a landmine but without the shrapnel. That once the kid stepped on it, the blast was triggered. I agree that it wasn’t homemade fireworks. The police said they had no evidence that it was related to terrorism or that it was intended to hurt someone. They also have no evidence that it wasn’t related to terrorism or wasn’t intended to hurt someone. This is not a bag with a half-eaten Big Mac. Why would someone have explosives in NYC and leave them in a bag in the park? Not a stretch but a reasonable assumption I think.
That poor kid. I feel for him.
Indeed a very sad situation and I don’t mean this to sound creepy, but this is a remarkable photograph … almost like an oil painting from the 17th or 18th century. The entire scene is vignetted by rocks at the bottom and greenery along the top and sides. The poor guy himself is framed by the policemen and their gear, with the orange stretcher mat and the eyes of the officer holding it pointed directly toward him … but we don’t see the subject of everyone’s concentration, only his legs. Speckles of sunlight shine through the trees and almost perfectly illuminate where the guy is lying. The colors run the gamut … multiple shades of green and brown earth tones, accented by the policeman’s gear and the chartreuse and blue accents on their uniforms and gloves … and the white bandage and red stream running down the small incline.
If you can divorce yourself from the gruesome subject matter, it’s an amazingly artistic photo.
It’s definitely a magnificent photo, and there’s nothing creepy about saying so – the finest photojournalism very often involves sad circumstances.
Weegee