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Police say New York man killed by exploding gender reveal device

28-year-old Christopher Pekny was assembling a device for his child’s gender reveal party in the Catskills town of Liberty when it exploded Sunday.

Editor's note: The video above is from Oct. 2020, regarding another gender reveal-related story. 

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

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.

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.

RELATED: PSA: Don't leave your gender reveal litter in Colorado parks

RELATED: Why gender reveals have spiraled out of control

RELATED: Video of a botched gender reveal party sparking a wildfire was released in 2018

RELATED: California fire sparked by device to reveal baby's gender

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