Man seriously injured after blast in New York's Central Park

An 18-year-old man may have lost a foot in an explosion in Central Park on Sunday, police said.

A New York Police Department spokesperson told Mashable that the cause of the blast remained unknown as of Sunday afternoon, but emergency personnel at the scene reportedly suspected fireworks.

The victim -- who has since been identified as a tourist, Connor Golden, of Fairfax, Va., by the New York Daily News -- was walking with two other men of similar age near the entrance of the Central Park Zoo when the explosion hit, the spokesperson said. 

The Daily News report identifies the two men as Golden's friends. One, identified as Thomas Hinds, 20, claims the three had no explosives in their possession and that Golden stepped on something.

“I want to say someone planted a firework or bottle rocket,” Hinds told the Daily News. “It seemed like he stopped on something that was pressure sensitive.”

The sound of the blast could be heard from a nearby private service for Holocaust survivor and Nobel Laureate Elie Wiesel, according to a New York Times reporter who was one of the first at the scene.

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Police said Golden was in town for a visit with some friends. The two men with him were both unhurt and taken by police for questioning shortly afterwards -- though neither is in custody.

Some local outlets reported that Golden's foot had been severed in the blast, but police couldn't confirm the extent of his injuries. Other reports indicated he faces a potential amputation.

Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

A portion of the park was closed immediately after the incident as NYPD bomb squad searched the area.

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