Overview
- A firework detonated near the playground at General Douglas MacArthur Park, injuring a 10‑year‑old girl who was taken to Staten Island University Hospital after police applied a tourniquet to her hand Tuesday evening.
- Doctors have lost at least part of the child’s left fingers and are attempting reconstructive surgery to salvage tissue between the thumb and middle finger.
- Police say on‑duty Parks employee Joshua Moe gave the girl a lighter after she found the device and asked for it; Moe was arrested, charged with endangering the welfare of a child and reckless endangerment, and was arraigned with supervised release granted.
- Investigators are probing whether the explosive was an illegal M‑80 and how the device entered the park, and the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation has opened an internal inquiry into staff actions and park conditions.
- Neighbors and witnesses say repeated loud blasts were heard near the site before the blast and community members are now pushing for better cleanup, tougher controls on illegal fireworks, and clearer rules for on‑duty park staff to prevent similar injuries.