Man Hurt by Bomb in B'klyn
Cops rule out terror
By ALICE McQUILLAN, DEREK ROSE and GREG WILSON
Daily News Staff Writers
bomb blew off part of a Brooklyn man's leg yesterday as he got into a rented van in front of his Borough Park home — a mysterious blast that rattled the close-knit Jewish neighborhood.
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| An investigator retrieves evidence from van rented by Israel Halberstam. |
As electronics store owner Israel Halberstam fought for his life, Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly ruled out terrorism. He said cops were looking into whether a "personal dispute" was behind the explosion, and that someone torched the merchant's rented car last month.
"There's no indication at this time that it is any kind of terrorist attack," said Kelly.
Sources said detectives had found possible bomb-making materials in Halberstam's toolbox — and hadn't ruled out the possibility he was transporting the bomb when it detonated. They also were looking into reports that Halberstam had money problems, the sources said.
The incident unfolded about 11:15 a.m. when Halberstam, 46, left his house on 42nd St., near 16th Ave. to go to work, and opened the door to his rented Dodge Caravan.
Victim Wasn't Moving
The neighborhood was then rocked by an explosion that sent Halberstam flying, severing his right leg below the knee.
"The guy wasn't moving," said Zbigniew Kustra, 51, a neighbor. "His hair and beard were burned, and it looked like he wasn't breathing."
The married father of five was taken to Bellevue Hospital, where he was in critical condition with facial and lung burns last night.
Kelly said the bomb was "fairly sophisticated" and was in some kind of package, but not planted inside the green van.
The commissioner said police were investigating how the device was detonated, but said it wasn't set off by remote control.
The bomb's location — combined with the lack of a remote control detonator and the discovery in Halberstam's toolbox — had cops examining whether he had the device when it exploded, sources said.
"There's now a possibility that it may have been his own bomb," said a police source.
Agents from the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and NYPD bomb squad investigators swept the area with bomb-sniffing dogs, then checked Halberstam's home and his store, about 1 1/2 miles away in Bay Ridge.
Worries of Terrorism
The blast sent shock waves through the Hasidic community, still shaken from the unsolved slaying of a Brooklyn rabbinical student last week. Many said they hoped the violence wasn't related to Mideast turmoil.
"It was pretty scary," said Jacob Goldberg, 16, who visited Jerusalem last month and saw two terror attacks. "It wasn't as bad as those bombs, but it was pretty close."
With Bill Egbert and Jonathan Lemire
Original Publication Date: 3/25/02