A Michigan man who was fatally injured when a cannon exploded in a backyard during a baby shower was within 15 feet of the device when the blast occurred, police said.
Police say a Michigan man who was fatally injured when a cannon exploded in a backyard during a baby shower was within 15 feet of the device when the blast occurred.
Expectant parents fired a cannon to celebrate their baby shower. It exploded and killed a guest.
Katie Shepherd, The Washington Post
Feb. 8, 2021
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A Michigan couple tied balloons to the mailbox and set out a chalkboard with a hand-drawn sign announcing their baby shower on Saturday. To mark the occasion, the expectant parents in Gaines Township, Mich., fired a celebratory cannon as the small party stood outside in the snow in the backyard.
But the gesture went horribly wrong when the gunpowder inside the cannon exploded, fracturing its metal frame and launching shrapnel into the air.
One piece of the cannon flew about 10 to 15 feet and struck 26-year-old Evan Thomas Silva in the chest, seriously injuring him, Michigan State Police said in a statement to WJRT on Sunday. The man, who was a friend of the hosts, later died at Hurley Medical Center in nearby Flint, Mich.
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A 26-year-old man was killed at a baby shower on Saturday after a small cannon exploded during the festivities, police said.
Evan Thomas Silva of Hartland, Michigan was standing 10-15 feet away from the cannon when it exploded around 7:30 p.m. at a home in Genesee County, the Michigan State Police said in a news release obtained by PEOPLE.
He and a group of three to four others were celebrating in the backyard when the incident occurred and sent off metal shrapnel, police said. He was the only person hit by the shrapnel, and died of his injuries after being transported to Hurley Medical Center in Flint, according to the release.