One of those explosives detonated while bomb techs tried to disarm it with a robot, but no one was hurt. The others were taken by authorities for study. Had it not been for these heroes, Elizabeth NJ would have experienced a devastating terrorist attack. We owe them a debt of gratitude,” Goncalves said. He also got a "nice" new backpack as a donation from local resident Janette Padlo. While White was paying for the beer, Parker said he noticed the backpack. Subscribe to New Jersey 101.5 FM on 
 
 Dr. Norma Bowe, director of the Kean University group Be The Change, was watching coverage of the removal of the bombs from near the midtown Elizabeth train station late into the night on Sunday and was concerned because many Kean students use that station. We continue to collect funds through gofundme.com and through the organization 'At Heart's Length' 
 
 
 
 Any items that you would like to send to Lee Parker or to Ivan White can be send to: 
 
 
 
 Elizabeth Coalition to House The Homeless 
 
 Attn: At Heart's Length Initiative 
 
 118 Division St., Elizabeth, NJ 07201-2736 
 
 Tel. Lee Parker is homeless and Ivan White lives on a fixed income. They asked us to thank everyone for the support. "If that pub was crowded and there was a lot of people there, it could have severely injured, killed and maimed many, many people," Bollwage previously told reporters at the scene. "Nice enough for me to have in my possession." Hours later after the bomb exploded in Elizabeth, 28-year-old Ahmad Khan Rahami, was caught after in a shootout with police in Linden.
– A backpack full of pipe bombs intended to cause terror and carnage ended up turning a homeless man's life around instead. Lee Parker and his friend Ivan White alerted police after they found the backpack in a garbage can in Elizabeth, NJ, Sunday night. Authorities say the bomb was close enough to a bar to have caused many deaths and injuries. The Elizabeth Coalition to House the Homeless says Parker, 50, now has a roof over his head and the group is working on finding a permanent home for him, USA Today reports. A GoFundMe page to raise funds for Parker, the homeless organization, and White, who's a Navy veteran on a fixed income, has now raised $20,000, double its $10,000 target. White tells New Jersey 101.5 that Parker, who carried his possessions in a plastic bag, had a job interview on Monday and thought the new-looking backpack he saw in the garbage was exactly what he needed—until he saw what was inside. Norma Bowe, director of the Be the Change NJ activist group, says the group found Parker and put him in touch with the homeless charity after hearing his story. "He literally moved that bomb, was there all night with the police, and then slept in an abandoned building," she says. "We can do better than that." NJ.com reports that well-wishers have given Parker clothes and food—and a new backpack.