The Latest: Police testing Central Park explosive compound

NEW YORK (AP) — The Latest on the investigation into the explosion in Central Park that injured a 19-year-old on Sunday (all times local):

4:10 p.m.

New York City police say a forensic examination is being conducted to identify the explosive compound that blew up in Central Park, injuring a 19-year-old who stepped on it.

New York Police Department Lt. Mark Torre says officials hope to have laboratory tests back by Wednesday.

Torre said Monday that the explosive compound was in a plastic bag and was likely made by an "explosive hobbyist" with basic knowledge of chemistry. He says it didn't appear to be designed to hurt people.

Police had likened the compound to a homemade firework.

The man was walking in the park with two friends Sunday when he stepped on a rock covering the explosive. His left foot was seriously injured and he was to undergo surgery at a hospital.

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1:30 a.m.

Police in New York say a firework that exploded and injured a 19-year-old who stepped on it in Central Park probably was created by someone with a basic knowledge of chemistry, but not designed to intentionally hurt people.

The injured man, who police didn't identify, was walking in the park with two friends Sunday when he stepped on a rock covering the explosive. His left foot was seriously injured and he was to undergo surgery at a hospital.

The blast on the east side of Central Park could be heard for blocks, leaving some with the belief that it was part of a July Fourth celebration.

Lt. Mark Torre, of the New York Police Department's bomb squad, says the firework was like an "explosive experiment" probably was designed to "make a large noise."

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