MAPLEWOOD TERROR BOMBING VICTIM: "EVERYTHING EXPLODED"

Gordon in the hospital. Photo:Daily Mail

Harris Gordon had just finished dinner with three college friends on Saturday night and was heading for the subway in Manhattan when terrorism struck.

Gordon, a Maplewood resident and former Columbia High School graduate, said it was very sudden when "everything exploded" and he found himself and his friends facing a deadly threat. They had become victims of last weekend's terror bombings that have drawn international attention. 

Gordon, at left, with his B.U. friends

A 2012 CHS graduate, Gordon recently received a business degree from Boston University and was with three B.U. pals when the bomb exploded at about 8:20 p.m. Saturday on 23rd Street near Sixth Avenue.

"We all were injured," Gordon recalled during an interview late Monday from his Maplewood home. "All of us remained conscious and on our feet, but it had been so sudden. We were just walking through the streets."

Harris Gordon

Gordon later described it as "a loud, booming noise," and said "there were flames, it got all smoky. As soon as I was able to react at all, we turned around and sprinted away."

He recalled "glass falling from the buildings and that's what caused the injury on my back I'm pretty sure."

Gordon received lacerations to his back and an abrasion on his lower abdomen. He said he got a few blocks away and that's when they sought help.

"I remember multiple people saying to call 911, one of my friends called 911 and told them where it happened," Gordon said, still shaken from the experience. 

He said one of his friends went into a CVS and got bandages and a paper towel roll, grabbing them from a shelf with the clerk's permission.

"A few minutes later, ambulances came by and we were treated from then on," Gordon said.

The group was taken to Mt. Sinai West hospital, treated and released at about 5 a.m. Sunday.

Growing up in Maplewood, Gordon said he regularly goes into the city with little fear and ventured in numerous times this summer to see friends, job hunt and take a course at NYU. He said this will not stop him, although he may be more careful.

"I'm not eager to rush back at the moment," Gordon admitted. "But my friends are there, they live there and its definitely important to be with them. They went through as equal a traumatic experience as I did. It's not going to deter me entirely. I may be a little bit more cautious."