Quantcast

The DNAinfo archives brought to you by WNYC.
Read the press release here.

A Bomb Blew Off My Son's Leg in Central Park, Not Fireworks, Dad Says

By Shaye Weaver | July 18, 2016 5:12pm
 Kevin Golden addresses the press on Monday, saying that his family will seek legal action once the culprit is found.
Kevin Golden addresses the press on Monday, saying that his family will seek legal action once the culprit is found.
View Full Caption
DNAinfo/Shaye Weaver

KIPS BAY — The family of the man whose leg was blown off after he stepped on an explosive in Central Park over the Fourth of July weekend doesn't believe the blast was caused by a firework.

While the NYPD originally blamed the explosion on a set of homemade fireworks made by a "hobbyist," Connor Golden's father, Kevin Golden, spoke to reporters Monday for the first time since the blast, saying he believed the explosion was caused by some form of bomb.

"The first thing Connor said after he told us he loved us was that he stepped on a bomb in Central Park," Kevin Golden said at Bellevue Hospital, adding that one of the good Samaritans who helped his son that day was a veteran who also believes it wasn't a firework.

"Legal action depends on the facts as they start coming out, but we'll be holding whoever is responsible responsible."

Golden, who's from Virginia and turned 19 in the hospital, was visiting the park with his friends on July 3 as part of a summer vacation when he jumped from a rock near East 60th Street and Fifth Avenue shortly before 11 a.m. and landed on the explosive.

He was rushed to Bellevue Hospital where his left leg had to be amputated mid-shin.

"Just don't take my hands," the music engineering student told doctors before the operation, according to Kevin Golden.

There was "a lot of damage to his bones in his foot," according toDr. Toni McLaurin, who also spoke on Monday.

Golden underwent three surgeries and is still recovering at Bellevue's post-operation surgery unit, she said.

Golden is healing well, she added, and he's entertaining himself and hospital staff with his LinnStrument, an electronic keyboard.

But, his dad said, "To sit there and think that you've raised your kids how to drive safely, look both ways before crossing the street, teach them to get out there so they can strike out on their own, what can you do as a parent when something like this happens?"

Friends and family have raised more than $57,000 to cover medical bills on a GoFundMe page

"He's struggling with discomfort, but we're hopeful that he will be in good enough shape to be released soon," Kevin Golden said.

"He is a strong and resilient young man. He will not let this define him."

The NYPD's Crime Stoppers is offering a reward up to $10,000 for information that leads to 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).