Expectant father killed after gender-reveal device explodes

PA
Leah Sinclair23 February 2021

An expectant father has died after a device he was building for his baby’s gender-reveal party exploded, according to police.

The tragic incident took place in the garage of Christopher Pekny’s home in the Catskills town of Liberty when the device he was assembling blew up unexpectedly on Sunday afternoon.

Police responded to reports of an explosion at 11:55am and said the blast killed Mr Pekny and injured his brother Michael Pekny, 27, who was taken to hospital.

A spokesman for the State Police, Trooper Steven Nevel, said what set off the explosion is currently under investigation.

Mr Nevel added that the device consisted of a type of pipe that was intended to be used at a gender-reveal party later that day, but the nature of its explosive material was not yet known.

Police said that currently “no charges are to be filed” in the incident.

Speaking to the New York Times, Mr Pekny’s oldest brother, Peter Pekny Jr, described what happened as "the freakiest of freak accidents that I could ever imagine".

He said that his brother Michael was in stable condition at a hospital in Middleton, New York and that doctors were able to rebuild a damaged knee.

Mr Pekny, who was due to celebrate his 29th birthday on Tuesday, learned that his girlfriend, Jennifer, was pregnant in December. They were expecting a baby boy.

This is the latest in a string of gender reveal tragedies that have taken place over the years.

Most recently, a Michigan man died earlier this month after he was struck by shrapnel from a gender reveal cannon being used at a baby shower, authorities said.

In 2020, a couple started a wildfire that burned for over a month after setting off a smoke bomb to reveal their baby’s gender.

The smoke bomb ignited wild grasses inside El Dorado Ranch Park in Southern California, and scorched 22,744 acres, destroying homes and forcing hundreds to evacuate.

One firefighter also died battling the fire.

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