A father and son were arrested after allegedly detonating an explosive device in a New Jersey suburb, sending shrapnel flying in all directions the length of a football field.
According to police, Thomas Kaiser (60) and his 28-year-old son Erich detonated the explosive during multiple neighborhood parties on Saturday in Manville. One person was seriously injured and major damage was caused to houses and a car in the area.
Dayna Cammacho was one of the neighbors hosting a Fourth of July party when her home’s security camera captured the moment a man set something on fire.
He ran away when it started smoking and seconds later it exploded, sending pieces of metal flying as far as 100 yards, police said.
“There was a car parked on that corner, a Kia, that was damaged,” Cammacho pointed out. NBC 4 New York“If that car hadn’t been there, it would have hit us on the table.”
Surveillance video from Dayna Cammacho’s home captures the moment an explosive device detonates in the upper right corner of the frame. One person was seriously injured by the shrapnel
A zoomed-in shot of the moment the suspect’s device in the park explodes
Father Thomas Kaiser, 60, and son Erich, 28, were arrested and charged with a series of crimes in connection with the detonation of an explosive device in Manville, New Jersey over the Fourth of July weekend.
One 34-year-old man was less fortunate than Cammacho and her guests.
While standing in a nearby park, 60 meters away from the explosion, the man was hit in the stomach by shrapnel.
“It was like a war wound, it was horrible,” Cammacho said. “If they hadn’t been there, he would have bled out in that field and died.”
Nicholas Barras, 24, was a Good Samaritan who happened to see the man fall from the projectile that hit him.
Fortunately, the trained first responder had his trauma kit full of medical equipment with him.
“He was lying on the ground. He was awake and conscious,” Barras told CBS New York. “You could see into his stomach, it was not a pretty sight.”
Nurse Antoinette Johnson and her sister also rushed to help the injured man as they had to leave their godson’s graduation party.
Trained emergency responder Nicholas Barras, left, and nurse Antoinette Johnson are credited with saving the man who was hit in the stomach by shrapnel from the explosive
In the photo: a car with its rear window completely smashed by the shards
“My fear was absolutely tremendous,” Johnson said, speaking about the incident. “But it’s pretty easy for me to take action … and I would help anybody.”
According to the victim’s family, Barras and Johnson saved their relative’s life and stabilized him before he was airlifted to hospital.
Metal debris flew through the neighborhood, shooting through a woman’s bathroom and bedroom, then out the back of her house into the backyard.
One family also had the rear window of their brand new car completely destroyed.
Manville police and the New Jersey State Bomb Squad arrived on the scene shortly after the explosion at 8:15 p.m.
A hole was left in a house with a piece of metal from the explosive torn through it
The piece of metal then went through the house and into the bathroom
Dayna Cammacho’s home security captured the explosion in real time. She said that if there hadn’t been a parked Kia to provide cover for her outdoor party, she and her guests likely would have been hit by shrapnel.
According to investigators, the father and son were attempting to set off a signal cannon, which they described as “a device designed to produce a large bang and cloud of smoke when fired.”
Law enforcement sources told NBC that the device, believed to be in the Kaisers’ possession, malfunctioned, sending shrapnel flying in all directions.
“They’re not experts, they don’t have the permits,” he said. “What should have been a fun night turned into a tragic night.”
Both Kaisers were charged with one count of fourth-degree aggravated assault, one count of third-degree possession of an explosive device, and other crimes.
Both men have been released and are scheduled to appear in Somerset County District Court.