Just before 11am, 18-year-old Connor Golden stepped on what appeared to be a discarded plastic bag, but some form of explosive inside detonated, leaving Connor with serious injuries to his left leg such that it had to be amputated.
The blast took place among exposed rocks in a popular area at the southeast corner of Central Park at 60th Street. The location suggests that not only may someone may have seen the culprit placing the bag, but also regardless of the bomber’s intention, the explosion ended up randomly targeting anyone who stumbled across the bag.
Investigators soon identified that the explosive used was called TATP, commonly used in terror attacks and capable of being produced using household chemicals. The bomb was not considered to be terror-related since it did not contain shrapnel or a detonation device, and appeared more like an experiment that had been discarded…