A father and son have been arrested after they allegedly detonated an explosive device in a suburban New Jersey neighborhood, sending shrapnel flying across a football field in all directions.
Police say Thomas Kaiser, 60, and his son Erich, 28, detonated the device during several outdoor block parties Saturday in Manville, seriously injuring one person and causing extensive damage to homes and a car in the area.
Dayna Cammacho was a neighbor hosting a party over the Fourth of July weekend when her home surveillance camera captured the moment a man appeared to light something on fire.
He fled when it began to smoke and seconds later, it exploded, sending pieces of metal flying up to 100 yards away, police said.
“There was a car parked there on that corner, a Kia, that had damage,” Cammacho said. 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 detonates in the upper right corner of the frame. One person was seriously injured by shrapnel
A zoomed-in shot of the moment the device planted by the suspect explodes in the park.
Father Thomas Kaiser, 60, and his son Erich, 28, were arrested and charged with a litany of crimes in connection with an explosive device that was detonated in Manville, New Jersey, over the Fourth of July weekend.
A 34-year-old man was not as lucky as Cammacho and his guests.
200 feet from the explosion in a nearby park, the man was hit by shrapnel in the stomach.
“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.”
Nicolás Barras, 24, was a good Samaritan who witnessed the man fall when he was hit by a bullet.
Fortunately, the trained EMT had his trauma bag full of medical equipment.
“He was on the ground, lying down. He was awake and conscious,” Barras told CBS New York. “You could see his stomach, it was not a pretty sight.”
Nurse Antoinette Johnson and her sister also stepped in to help the injured man, leaving their godson’s graduation party.
Trained emergency technician 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 image: A car is seen with its rear windshield completely shattered by shrapnel.
“My anxiety was definitely at its peak,” Johnson said of the incident. “But it’s pretty easy for me to spring into action… and I would help anybody.”
The victim’s family says Barras and Johnson saved their relative’s life and stabilized him before he was airlifted to the hospital.
Metal debris flew across the neighborhood, through a woman’s bathroom and bedroom, then out the back of her home into the backyard.
One family also had the rear window of their brand new car completely smashed.
Manville police and the New Jersey State Police Bomb Squad arrived at the scene shortly after the explosion occurred at 8:15 p.m.
A hole was left in one house where a piece of metal from the explosive passed through.
The piece of metal then went through the house and into the bathroom.
Dayna Cammacho’s home surveillance camera captured the explosion in real time. She said that if there hadn’t been a Kia parked there to protect her outdoor party, she and her guests likely would have been hit by shrapnel.
Investigators said the father and son attempted to ignite a signal cannon, which they described as “a device designed to create a large explosion and cloud of smoke when ignited.”
Sources within the police department told NBC that this device allegedly possessed by the Kaisers malfunctioned, causing shrapnel to fly in all directions.
“They are not experts, they don’t have permits for this,” he said. “What was supposed to be a fun night turned into a tragic night.”
Both Kaisers were charged with one count of fourth-degree aggravated assault and one count of third-degree possession of an explosive device, among other crimes.
Both men were released and are due to appear in Somerset County Superior Court.