Michigan man killed in freak explosion at baby shower

Gaines Township, Michigan - A gender reveal at a baby shower party went horribly wrong when a small cannon device exploded and killed a 26-year-old Michigan man.

Gender reveal events, where parents announce their soon-to-be-born child's sex, have grown in popularity over the past few years.
Gender reveal events, where parents announce their soon-to-be-born child's sex, have grown in popularity over the past few years.  © IMAGO / Panthermedia

During a gender reveal event on Sunday, a small cannon device that a homeowner fired into his backyard blew up and spattered metal shrapnel that hit a man standing nearby.

The man was taken to Hurley Medical Center in Flint with serious injuries, but doctors were unable to save him. He was pronounced dead hours later, The Associated Press reported.

The garage where the baby shower took place and three parked cars were also struck by shrapnel, but no other people were hurt.

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In recent years, several gender-reveal events, where devices emit confetti, balloons, or other pink or blue-colored objects to announce an unborn child's sex, have backfired and sparked a lot of criticism.

In September, a couple's plan to reveal their baby's gender with blue or pink smoke using pyrotechnics infamously started a huge forest fire that burned down thousands of acres in Southern California.

Cover photo: IMAGO / Panthermedia

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