Man killed at baby shower when celebratory cannon explodes

The cannon sent shrapnel flying all over three cars and a garage where the baby shower was being held

A 26-year-old man was killed on Saturday after being hit by shrapnel from a cannon explosion during a celebration at a baby shower . (Screengrab/ABC News)

A 26-year-old man was killed on Saturday after being hit by shrapnel from a cannon explosion during a baby shower celebration in Genesee County in Michigan.

The device was fired in the backyard of the homeowner in Genesee County at around 7.30 pm to celebrate the pending arrival of the baby when the spraying metal shrapnel struck the man, reported ABC News.

The victim, Evan Thomas Silva, was at a distance of 10 to 15 feet from the device when it blew up. He was taken to Hurley Medical Center in Flint, where he succumbed to his injuries.

The shrapnel also struck three parked cars and the garage where the shower was being held.

"The homeowner had purchased the cannon at an auction prior to the event and had fired the cannon several times prior. The cannon is designed to create a big flash, a loud noise and smoke," state police said in a statement, according to ABC News.

The police further said that the cannon did not contain any projectiles but they suspect that the gun powder was loaded into the device causing the cannon to fracture. The bomb squad and Gaines Township Fire Department responded to the scene.

However, no charges have been filed as yet, as the investigators are probing how the event turned deadly, reported the New York Times, which also quoted police as saying the event was not a gender reveal party.

This is not an isolated event where the use of explosive devices in the baby shower and gender reveal event took a dangerous turn.

In September last year, a baby's gender reveal even went disastrously wrong when a “smoke-generating pyrotechnic device” ignited a wildfire, burning down acres of land in Southern California.

And in October 2019, a homemade device that was supposed to reveal a baby's gender by discharging coloured powder, exploded like a pipe bomb, killing a 56-year-old woman.