A contract worker charged in connection with a blast that injured seven people at a suburban New York college pleaded not guilty to misdemeanor reckless endangerment and assault.

The Journal News reports that Douglas Walker of South Nyack was released without bail after Monday’s arraignment. The newspaper says Walker’s attorney declined to comment. Walker is due back in court in September.

A gap in an underground gas connection may have contributed to the June 5 explosion at Nyack College in South Nyack.

The blast shattered windows and caused a fire that was extinguished by an in-house sprinkler system. Orange & Rockland Utilities had to cut electricity to several hundred. Gas service also was disrupted to dozens of customers.

Police say Walker’s actions were believed to be unintentional.

(AP)