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Central Park Explosive Was Made of Chemicals Easily Bought in Stores: NYPD

By Shaye Weaver | July 15, 2016 11:27am | Updated on July 18, 2016 8:54am
 Connor Golden, 18, was wounded when he jumped down from a boulder in Central Park on July 3, 2016 and landed on homemade fireworks, according to officials and reports.
Connor Golden, 18, was wounded when he jumped down from a boulder in Central Park on July 3, 2016 and landed on homemade fireworks, according to officials and reports.
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CENTRAL PARK — An explosive that severely wounded a college student in Central Park was made of common chemicals that can be easily bought in hardware stores, police say.

The NYPD Detective Bureau said they found three substances which are legally available. These ingredients can be combined with other chemicals to develop home-made explosives, they said in a statement on Thursday night.

Police did not immediately say what the substances were, but sources told CBS New York that investigators found traces of TATP, or triacetone triperoxide, which can be found in household chemicals.

"Based on the crime scene investigation and the forensic examination, it is believed that this explosive material was made by someone experimenting with commercially available products," police said in their statement.

Connor Golden, a 19-year-old student at the University of Miami, was visiting the park with his friends on July 3, when he jumped down from a rock near East 60th Street and Fifth Avenue shortly before 11 a.m. and landed on the explosives.

He was rushed to Bellevue Hospital where his leg had to be amputated just below the knee.

A GoFundMe page has been set up to help cover his medical bills.

Police have no evidence the explosion was related to terrorism and it is still under investigation, they said.

Crime Stoppers is offering a reward up to $10,000 upon the arrest and indictment of the person responsible for the explosion.

Anyone with information in regards to this incident is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477).