New York State Police responded to reports of an explosion at a residence in the town of Liberty at 11:55 am on Sunday. As it turned out, a gender-reveal device had exploded, bringing gloom to a supposedly happy occasion. The state police and its bomb disposal unit are still investigating the incident.
Christopher Pekny, 28, was killed while setting up the said gender-reveal device that exploded, New York State Police reported. He is the father of the child whose gender was supposed to be revealed during the occasion. The incident, however, deprived him of life and the opportunity to see his baby at birth.
The explosion also injured his 27-year-old brother, Michael Pekny. The device was intended to explode in a cloud of colored powder which reveals the gender of the baby but instead sent lethal shrapnel flying.
Christopher died as a result of the accidental explosion. His younger brother, Michael, suffered injuries from the shrapnel hitting him in the torso and legs, and was then taken to Garnet Medical Center in Middletown for treatment.
Authorities still haven't specified what kind of device Pekny was building for the gender-reveal party, but a New York State Police spokesperson told BuzzFeed News on Monday that "Currently there are no charges to be filed."
CBS New York also reported that there was no "malicious intent" in the lethal incident that happened.
Other gender reveal accidents
This is not the first time a gender-reveal stunt has led to a lethal consequence. While most gender-reveal parties go off without any troubles, there are a few which resulted in deadly incidents that have captures headlines, The Blaze said.
In October 2019, in Knoxville Iowa, Pamela Kreimeyer, a grandmother, was instantly killed by a homemade "pipe bomb" gender-reveal device where she was hit in the head by a metal shrapnel after the device, which was created by family members, went off.
The report added that Kreimeyer "was standing with other family members approximately 45 feet from the device. It's believed that the projectile that struck the victim then continued another 144 yards through the air coming to rest in a field."
In nearly February, another incident where an exploding device took the life of a Michigan man who was just attending his friends' gender-reveal party when a cannon exploded during the event and sent metal shrapnel flying. The shocking incident unfolded in Gaines Township.
Authorities said the homeowners had planned to set off a small explosive device that looks like a cannon as a part of the celebration, but it suddenly blew up as they were trying to ignite it.
Among the worst incidents caused by a gender-reveal mishap was last September's massive El Dorado wildfire in San Bernardino County, California that was sparked by a pyrotechnic device used at a family's gender-reveal event.
The fires lasted for two months, burning over 7,300 acres and killing a firefighter who was battling the wildfire. More than 500 firefighters, 60 fire engines, and four helicopters were deployed in Southern California to combat the massive fire.
