A firework that exploded when a 19-year-old unwittingly stepped on it in Central Park, seriously injuring his left foot, didn't appear to be designed to intentionally hurt people, police officials said.
The homemade gadget was like an "explosive experiment" that was probably designed to "make a large noise, maybe make a flash", concocted by someone with a basic understanding of chemistry, said Lt Mark Torre, commanding officer of the New York Police Department's bomb squad.
There was no evidence that the explosion was related to terrorism and there were no specific, credible threats on New York over the July Fourth weekend, the authorities said.
The injured man, who police did not identify, was walking in the park with two friends when he stepped on a rock covering the explosive. He was undergoing surgery to his left foot at a hospital and was in stable condition, fire officials said.
Investigators don't believe the man who stepped on it or his friends are responsible for creating the explosive and officials asked that anyone with information about it contact the police.
