ABC News reported, as of 5:33 pm Eastern Time, the “explosion” may have been some sort of experiment, either with fireworks or explosives
It was still not clear exactly what the explosive was, but police said they did not believe it was connected to terrorism.
Mark Torre, commanding officer of the NYPD bomb squad, added that investigators are leaning toward considering this the work of an explosive "hobbyist," an amateur or someone who knows chemistry.
It could have even been some sort of "experiment" that was not meant to explode, as it did, when stepped on, Torre said.