The New York Police Department said the explosive device a young adult man stepped on in Central Park was probably not a terrorist device, but was consistent with an amateur attempt at creating fireworks.
“We are not finding anything consistent with a constructed IED,” Lt. Mark Torre of NYPD bomb squad said at a press conference Sunday afternoon. IED refers to an “improvised explosive device” intended to inflict major damage.
Officials said the victim, who has not been named, was in serious but stable condition at New York’s Bellevue Hospital after suffering a severe leg injury and possible amputation. The victim has been variously identified as 18 or 19 years old. Police said that they did not believe the victim or two friends present with him at the explosion had been involved in creating the device.
The device had been placed in the park in an off-path area where people would not ordinarily step. It exploded when the victim trod on it.
Officials speculated that the device was an attempt to create homemade fireworks, noting that there is an uptick in incidents relating to that around the Fourth of July holiday.
Law enforcement authorities told the Associated Press that the incident occurred at about 11 a.m. Sunday. Police said witnesses saw the man step onto a rock when the explosion occurred. The blast could be heard for several blocks.
“It sounded like a cannon,” Sara Gordon, who was in the area at the time, told the New York Daily News. “I thought it was a Fourth of July thing.”
Tourist John Murphy, a witness who stayed with the victim until authorities arrived, said the victim “was severely injured. His left leg was severely damaged, all bone and muscle.”
“Outside Eli Wiesel’s funeral I heard a huge explosion just now. Running into Central Park and found a young man with his left leg blown off,” tweeted New York Times reporter Sarah Nir.
In a tweet earlier this afternoon, New York Mayor Bill de Blasio indicated the incident may have been a Fourth of July fireworks-related mishap.
“Dangerous incident in Central Park today. Fireworks are fun — but let’s leave them to the professionals. Stay safe,” he tweeted.
