Iowa Cops: Gender Reveal Death Was Stunt Gone Wrong

An Iowa family's gender-reveal party went tragically wrong on Saturday, resulting in the death of a 56 year old woman attending the gathering.

Police in Marion County, Iowa say that Pamela Kreimeyer was killed instantly when flying debris hit her in the head. The debris then traveled over 400 feet before landing in a nearby field. Kreimeyer was only about 40 or so feet away from the initial explosion.

KCRG.com:

Family members had been experimenting with explosives in the hopes of posting a colorful announcement on social media, authorities said. They welded a metal cylinder to a stand and packed it with gunpowder that they thought would send the colored baby powder aloft. But authorities say tape covering the top of the cylinder caused it to detonate like a pipe bomb.

"This family got together for what they thought was going to be a happy event with no intent for anyone to get hurt," Sheriff Jason Sandholdt said in a statement. "What ended up happening was that Pamela Kreimeyer, a wife, mother and grandmother, was killed by a piece of metal where a metal stand gunpowder and colored powder were involved. This is a reminder that anytime someone mixes these things there is a high potential for serious injury or death."