A 26-year-old man from Michigan was killed in an explosion that occurred during a baby shower, according to Gaines Township officials. A small cannon fired in the backyard of a house by the owner exploded, scattering shrapnel of metal that hit the man nearby.
The man was taken in serious condition to the Hurley Medical Center in Flint, where he later died. The man was identified as Evan Thomas Silva of Hartland, said the CBS affiliate WNEM.
Three parked cars and the garage where the baby shower was being held were also hit by shrapnel, the station said. Michigan State Police said gun powder was suspected of causing the cannon to fracture.
WNEM, citing the Michigan State Police, reports that the cannon was purchased by the owner at an auction. The device was fired by the owner several times before February 6.
Calls on Sunday to Gaines municipality officials for additional information were not immediately returned.
In recent years, some gender-reveal events – in which devices eject confetti, balloons or other colorful objects to announce the sex of a child to be born – have taken a dangerous turn.
In September, a couple’s plan to reveal the sex of the baby with blue or pink smoke set off a fire that burned thousands of hectares in southern California. And in 2019, a homemade explosive used to reveal the sex of a baby killed Pamela Kreimeyer, 56, in Knoxville, Iowa. The device was designed to spray dust, but it exploded like a bomb.