Police officers stand near the borders of a crime scene around the site of an explosion in Central Park, New York, Sunday, July 3, 2016.
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Photographs of the injured man, who police said was visiting from Virginia with two friends, showed his left foot bandaged and badly mangled as he was being treated by emergency medical technicians on the scene. NBC 4 NY, citing an unnamed senior law enforcement, reported that it appeared to be a firework device.
The blast, which occurred around 11 a.m. near Fifth Avenue and East 68th Street, resonated through most of the park and was heard at the funeral of author Elie Wiesel on East 62nd Street.
The New York Police Department (NYPD) said one person was injured.
Police say a 19-year-old man was hurt Sunday, and his friends say he stepped on something that exploded.
And while many of hobbyists experiment in their backyards, for those in NY, their backyard is Central Park.
“There’s nothing to indicate that this was an explosive device that was placed or put in this area with a specific intent to harm an individual”, said Lt. Mark Torre, from the NYPD Bomb Squad.
Police in NY say a firework that exploded and injured a 19-year-old who stepped on it in Central Park probably was created by someone with a basic knowledge of chemistry, but not designed to intentionally hurt people. He is listed in serious, but stable condition at a hospital. The victim and his two friends are not considered suspects, O’Connell said.
A sweep of the park by sniffer dogs had not turned up any additional explosive material.
Authorities found no evidence that the explosion was related to terrorism but The New York Times reports President Obama was brief about the incident.
“We’ve seen a lot of experimentation with homemade fireworks”, Torre said to CBS News, adding the Central Park explosive may have been created to go off at an earlier time, even a day before, but for whatever reason did not.
A college student visiting for the holiday weekend was wounded when he leapt down from a boulder in Central Park Sunday morning onto a set of “homemade fireworks” that someone had left behind, according to officials and reports.
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Mayor Bill de Bladio sent a tweet cautioning people to enjoy fireworks safely: “Fireworks are fun – but let’s leave them to the professionals”.
