Man dies when party explosives detonate; 1 arrest

SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — A 20-year-old man has been arrested after a 28-year-old man died following the explosion of a homemade bomb during a party in Spokane County.

Sheriff’s spokesman Sgt. R. David Reagan says Christapher A. Harris was arrested Sunday on one felony count of Possession/Manufacture of an Incendiary Device, for allegedly providing the explosives.

Reagan says someone brought explosives to the event Saturday night at a home in the Chattaroy area north of Spokane.

Witness told deputies that partygoers tried to detonate the explosives on the driveway but when they failed to ignite, the victim went over to them. Just then they blew up.

Reagan says the man began staggering and partiers first thought he was joking before realizing he was seriously hurt.

Deputies arriving on the scene a short while later found the man still in the driveway. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

The man’s name, details on the cause of death and on the explosives were not disclosed in the sheriff’s statement.