Police: Man killed by exploding gender reveal device

It happened just before 12 p.m. Sunday at a home on Lieutenant J.G. Brender Highway in Liberty.

Associated Press

Feb 22, 2021, 9:31 PM

Updated 1,379 days ago

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LIBERTY, N.Y. — An expectant father was killed when a device he was building for a gender reveal party exploded in Sullivan County, police said Monday.
Christopher Pekny, 28, was assembling a device for his child’s gender reveal party in Liberty when it exploded just before noon Sunday, state police said.
Pekny was killed by the blast and his 27-year-old brother, Michael Pekny, was injured, police said. Michael Pekny was treated for his injuries at an area hospital.
The death is the latest in a string of tragedies blamed on faulty gender reveal devices in recent years.
A Michigan man was killed earlier this month when he was struck by shrapnel from a gender reveal cannon being used at a baby shower, authorities said.
Another gender reveal device sparked a September 2020 wildfire that burned thousands of acres in Southern California.