Police say NY man killed by exploding gender reveal device

An expectant father was killed when a device he was building for a gender reveal party exploded, police in New York have said.

Christopher Pekny, 28, was assembling a device for his child’s gender reveal party in the Catskills town of Liberty when it exploded just before noon Sunday, state police said on Monday.

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.