Man burned after mystery package explodes on his doorstep

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Associated Press


Updated 12:26 pm, Saturday, July 29, 2017


NEW YORK (AP) — Police say a 73-year-old man was badly burned after he opened a mysterious package the shape of an oatmeal container left on his doorstep and it exploded.

Chief of Detectives Robert Boyce says the man had second- and third-degree burns to more than 80 percent of his torso and legs, and was hospitalized in critical condition.

Boyce says the explosive was rigged to detonate when opened. He says the blast left behind "substantial evidence."

Neighbors told reporters the man was doubled over in flames and was on fire when emergency crews arrived.

Read more: http://www.chron.com/news/us/article/73-year-old-burned-after-package-explodes-on-his-11679471.php

[bucolic_frolic]

1. Let me guess

Police suspect foul play

[burrowowl]

2. No! Really!?

[BumRushDaShow]

3. Here is more about this from the NY Daily News

This is just so sad...

<...>

George Wray, 73, was badly burned after he opened the mysterious parcel left on the front porch of his two-family home on 222nd St. near 145th Rd. in Springfield Gardens around 5:15 p.m. Friday, police said. Medics rushed Wray to Nassau University Medical Center where he is fighting for his life, relatives said.

His sister Miriam Wray, 65, said they have kept a steady presence by his bedside and are trying to cope with the tragedy that left a hard-working father figure heavily sedated and breathing through a respirator. “It’s very hard. He was the father for everyone. The first person people would call when they had trouble,” she said. “He was always there for us.”

She said her brother, a Jamaican immigrant who has lived in the neighborhood for around 45 years, bought the house a few years ago and she helped him fix up the dilapidated property. “He was so excited,” she said of Wray, who is the father of an adult son. “He was going to rent it out and sell it to one of the family one day.”

<...>

Cops were still working to piece together what happened. The package was meant for a Bloods gang member who lives in the home Wray rents out, police sources said.

http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/queens/family-queens-landlord-injured-exploding-parcel-rattled-article-1.3368190

A neighbor remarked that the package had apparently been sitting there "for weeks" and had not been addressed to anyone.

[hamsterjill]

4. My heart breaks.

Please, America! Love. Not war.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

5. Maybe it's just the way it was worded but...

"Neighbors told reporters the man was doubled over in flames and was on fire when emergency crews arrived."

Didn't anyone have a blanket or a towel or a shirt handy?