Man charged after explosion at gender-reveal party shakes neighborhood
A New Hampshire man is facing criminal charges after 80 pounds of explosives were detonated at a gender-reveal party in April that caused some neighbors to believe an earthquake had struck.
Anthony Spinelli was charged with disorderly conduct after turning himself in to the Kingston Police Department, according to reports.
Authorities said Spinelli purchased the explosive Tannerite, which is used by gun owners for target practice but is also sold as a novelty for gender-reveal events.
The party was held in Kingston on April 20 in a quarry near a concrete-mixing business, which the partygoers believed was an ideal and “safe location” for an explosion, police were told.
The blast, however, shook the ground with such force that some initially mistook it for an earthquake, reports said. NBC 10 in Boston said the boom rattled nearby towns and was heard from across the state line.
No injuries or property damage were reported, and Spinelli was charged “due to the fact that he caused public alarm.”
The incident recalls several other recent mishaps involving celebratory devices meant to eject confetti, balloons or colored smoke to announce the gender of a baby but have instead caused disaster and death.
In February, a backyard baby shower in Michigan turned deadly when a homeowner fired a mini-cannon that malfunctioned and exploded, killing one of the party guests. That same month, a father died after a gender-reveal device exploded in New York.
In September, a couple used a pyrotechnic device to reveal their baby’s gender but instead sparked a wildfire that burned more than 10,000 acres in Southern California.
And in 2019, a homemade explosive used to reveal a baby’s gender killed 56-year-old Pamela Kreimeyer in Knoxville, Iowa. The device was meant to spray powder but instead blew up like a pipe bomb.
About the Author
ArLuther Lee is a visual editor and occasionally covers national and world news for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He holds a bachelor's degree in journalism from The University of Florida and has been a journalist for more than 25 years.
