Gender-reveal device kills father-to-be

World

Published: 2021-02-23 14:59

Last Updated: 2024-03-25 18:09


Source: BBC/Christopher Pekny Facebook
Source: BBC/Christopher Pekny Facebook

28-year-old father-to-be Christopher Pekny of New York died Sunday while assembling a device that was meant to announce his child's gender, according to police.

The device exploded, killing Pekny on impact, and injuring his brother, Michael. It was not immediately known what caused the explosion.

A third Pekny brother, Peter Pekny Jr, called the incident "The freakiest of freak accidents that I could ever imagine."

Gender-reveal celebrations, which often involve grandiose gender announcements complete with fireworks or grenades, have been the cause of much controversy in recent years after one party sparked a wildfire in California in 2020, burning through nearly 20,000 acres.

A 56-year-old woman was also killed in 2019 after a gender-reveal device exploded.

State police and its bomb disposal unit are investigating the incident.