A bomb that went off in Central Park during the July 4th weekend, which seriously injured a tourist, was found to be homemade, law officials reported.
Connor Golden, 19, a University of Miami student from Fairfax, Virginia, was in the park with two friends near Fifth Avenue when he jumped off a rock and landed on a plastic bag with the explosive material inside, causing it to detonate. The student needed to have his leg amputated from the knee down.
The plastic bag contained triacetone triperoxide (TATP) which is an unstable explosive that has been used in terrorist attacks for decades, including in those that took place in Paris last year. It’s often made from common household chemicals legally available from hardware stores. However, police do not believe the explosive device was intended to harm anyone but was rather a product someone’s curiosity. NYPD Lieutenant, Mark Torre, suspects the person responsible for the bomb was an explosive hobbyist rather than a terrorist, stating, “I believe we have somebody that made this material and then he wanted to test it.”
Investigating the case
Nonetheless, the NYPD Detective Bureau is leading investigations into the case and is offering a reward of up to $10 000 to anyone with information leading to the arrest and indictment of the person who committed the crime. Investigators managed to trace the source of the bag to a closed down bakery in New Jersey, but they haven’t identified anyone who could be responsible.
Parents of Oaktown High School, where Connor Golden attended, launched a GoFundMe site to help the family raise money for the medical expenses. According to an update made on 14 July, the campaign is now looking to raise $75 000 in support of Golden’s recovery, and an infection following a second surgery.
A fireworks company owner, Phil Grucci, stated the obvious in an interview with the Voice saying that fireworks are “no joke.” He mentioned the various processes that go into producing and testing display fireworks to meet safety standards, which are not realized with bootleg fireworks or illegal explosives, which is part of what makes them extremely dangerous.
The Joint Terrorism Task Force, which includes FBI and New York Police Department investigators, was called to the scene to analyze the explosive ingredients. The NYPD bomb lab has been examining the chemicals found.
Although authorities do not believe that the person who put the homemade bomb together had the intention of causing harm, their lack of sensibility in their actions caused the severe injury of an innocent teenage student. The fact that the committed crime has not been linked to terrorism does not mean that the perpetrator should be exempt from the full consequences of the law. Also, the question here is what exactly did the creator of the bomb think would happen if they left their dangerously explosive concoction unattended in a public area frequented by various people? His or her curiosity-induced experiment was extremely dangerous and completely callous.
Source: Village Voice