Teenage tourist severely injured in Central Park explosion
A teenage tourist was severely injured in an explosion in New York’s Central Park, which is thought to have been caused by fireworks.
Police believe 18-year-old Connor Golden stepped on a discarded homemade explosive on a large rock in the park yesterday morning, the eve of Independence Day.
It is understood the teenager, a student in Florida, might have lost his foot in the explosion. Police referred to the incident as a ‘possible amputation’.
The area around the rock was closed while police investigated, using bomb sniffing dogs.
A spokesman for the NYPD Bomb Squad told the New York Post that the explosion appeared to be caused by a homemade device placed in a paper bag.
He said it was possible someone had tried to light it on Friday night but the rain had prevented it from going off until stepped on by the teenager.
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
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