Gender reveal parties are supposed to be a fun occasion, filled with celebration and mystery around whether the parents-to-be are having a boy or a girl. But a recent get-together in Knoxville, Iowa, has ended in tragedy.
A 56-year-old family member tragically passing away when she was hit with debris following an explosion.
According to The Washington Post, the reveal involved a homemade explosive device, which caused metal shrapnel to shoot towards the family who were standing 14 metres away.
“The family got together for what they thought was going to be a happy event with no intent for anyone to get hurt,” Marion County Sheriff Jason Sandholdt said in a statement. “What ended up happening was that Pamela Kreimeyer, a wife, mother and grandmother was killed by a piece of metal where a metal stand, gunpowder and colored powder were involved.”
For the big reveal, the family filled a metal pipe on a stand with gunpowder, drilled a hole for a fuse and placed a piece of wood on top. Coloured powder was layered on the wood and sealed with tape.
The result? They “inadvertently created a pipe bomb,” said authorities.
Sadly, this isn’t the first time a gender reveal party has gotten out of hand. A 2017 Arizona get-together caused an explosion that sparked a wildfire that burned 47,000 acres of land and caused more than $8 million in damage, which the man responsible was ordered to pay in restitution.
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