'Homemade' Bomb That Sounded 'Like a Cannon' Blows Off Student's Foot in Central Park
Source: NY Daily News/MSN
A college student stepped on a homemade bomb in Central Park Sunday, blowing off his left foot, authorities said.
Connor Golden, 18, of Fairfax, Va. had just climbed down off of a rock near E. 60th St. and Fifth Ave. around 11 a.m. when the blast went off. The explosive appeared to have been in the area more than a day, according to Lt. Mark Torre, the commanding officer of the NYPDs Bomb Squad said. He ruled out authorities initial suspicion of a self-inflicted fireworks mishap.
Two friends of the victim, Connor Golden, 18, of Fairfax, Va., insisted they had no fireworks or other explosives. One witnesses said the victims foot was all but gone. Another said the blast sounded like a cannon.
Bomb-sniffing dogs combed the area around the explosion. Cops also examined a car parked at Newark Airport that the victim used to drive to New York, sources said. The FBI took over investigation of the case, a source said.
Goldens two friends Thomas Hinds, 20, and Matthew Stabile, 18, went into shock after the bizarre blast.
Hinds told the Daily News in an interview from the 19th Precinct stationhouse that he had just stepped off of a large rock in the park with Golden behind him when the blast went off. I got down the hill and boom, my ears were ringing. I felt a wave, a gust hit me in the back, Hinds said. I turned around and saw him on the ground with his foot bleeding. It just demolished his foot. His foot was mutilated, Hinds added. Golden groaned on the ground but remained conscious. His foot was gone and he handled it pretty well, Hinds said. He's a tough guy...All he said was get help.
Hinds said the group had no explosives something hed told police for an hour and a half. Theyre questioning the hell out of me, Hinds said. He hesitated to say a bomb had gone off, because the explosion wasnt that large. I want to say someone planted a firework or bottle rocket, Hinds said. It seemed like he stopped on something that was pressure sensitive.
The trio arrived from Virginia Saturday and had planned to set up a tightrope between two trees and enjoy a day in the park. This was our first full day of doing anything and immediately this happened, Hinds said.
Police said they had responded to an amputation incident. Medics rushed the victim to Bellevue Hospital.
The explosion was heard by attendees of Elie Wiesels funeral on E. 61st St. though there was no sign the blast was related to the memorial for the Pulitzer Prize winning Holocaust survivor.
Witness John Murphy, 53, said he tried to keep Golden conscious following the explosion. Con't.
Read more: http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/homemade-bomb-that-sounded-like-a-cannon-blows-off-students-foot-in-central-park/ar-AAi1kfJ?li=BBmkt5R&ocid=spartandhp
Published 5 hrs. ago.
Agschmid
(28,749 posts)mahina
(17,659 posts)That is just so rough.
pnwmom
(108,978 posts)spud_demon
(76 posts)exploding when somebody steps on it.
But the police said "homemade", so probably not a military-production mine.
PJMcK
(22,037 posts)spud_demon
(76 posts)If you kill a soldier, you take one out of the battle. If you blow his foot off, you take him out of the battle, plus whoever has to help him.
That's why the US really should have ratified the full metal jacket treaty from the Hague Conventions.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-personnel_mine
The mines are often designed to injure, not kill, victims in order to increase the logistical (mostly medical) support required by enemy forces that encounter them.
PJMcK
(22,037 posts)My reaction was the result of my knee jerking. I should have thought this through before my smart-ass post.
Thanks for the link; very interesting how military planners think.
msanthrope
(37,549 posts)It wasn't on a path, it may have been left behind......I don't think there's enough info yet.
Binkie The Clown
(7,911 posts)Don't play with matches, boys and girls.
romanic
(2,841 posts)I don't blame the guy's friends for going into shock, I'd be damn near frozen seeing that happen to a buddy of mine. I hope Connor recovers, he seems like a pretty tough guy to go through all that and stay conscious.
CentralMass
(15,265 posts)crim son
(27,464 posts)to experience on American soil what has been experienced regularly by people in war zones around the world. Hope not.