A New Jersey father and son are facing assault and other charges after an explosive mishap at a party over the holiday weekend spewed shrapnel through their neighborhood, authorities say.
Police arrested Thomas Kaiser, 60, and his 28-year-old son Erich at a party in Manville Saturday night after getting a call about an explosion in the Valley section of the borough -- and at least one serious injury. The pair were charged with aggravated assault and possession of an explosive device.
First responders treated a 34-year-old man for lower torso injuries at the scene and airlifted him to a trauma hospital. He had been standing 200 feet away from the blast, but even that much distance couldn't keep him out of harm's way, as he was hit by metal shrapnel.
The scary and life-altering injury forced one woman, a trauma nurse, to go from hosting a high school graduation party for her godson to stepping in to help stop the bleeding.
"It was like a wartime injury, it was horrible," said neighbor Dayna Cammacho. "If they weren't there, he would have bled out in that field and died."
Investigators say the Kaisers had allegedly tried to set off a signal cannon, a device designed to create a large boom and a smoke cloud when ignited. Instead, the entire metal canister exploded in the middle of Cooper Street Park around 8:15 p.m. over the holiday weekend, spewing shrapnel as far as 100 yards away, authorities say.
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Three homes and two vehicles were also said to be damaged.
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One homeowner said metal shrapnel exploded through the front of her house, into her bedroom, through a bathroom, out the back of the house, through a gazebo. Other parts went whizzing through the air before lodging in her backyard neighbor's bathroom tub.
"It wasn't a Fourth of July celebratory firework, it was a pipe bomb," said Cammacho.
The person badly injured required multiple surgeries at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital.
Thomas and Erich Kaiser were released pending a first appearance hearing in Somerset County Superior Court. Attorneys for the men weren't immediately clear.
It's not Thomas Kaiser's first step into fire. He was arrested in 2019 after bringing a cooler of fireworks to a Jersey Shore bar, forcing a scheduled Labor Day parade to be canceled. Thomas Kaiser pleaded guilty and was sentenced the following year to a year of probation.
