‘The explosion was very very loud’: 15-year-old dead after lighting ‘mortar-type’ firework in Graham

GRAHAM, Wash. — A 15-year-old boy is dead after he lit a “mortar-type” firework with his friends during a sleepover in Graham.

The teenager was killed after he and his four friends were lighting fireworks on the property of the New Testament Christian Church on Monday around 2 a.m.

The pastor, Phillip Kinson, said surveillance video captured the boys hopping over a fence near the main road and walking over to a grassy hill, near one of the church buildings.

Investigators said the 15-year-old boy was holding a tube near his body. He lit a firework and dropped it inside the tube, however, it exploded inside the tube moments later.

“This was a really hard one for all of our first responders. It’s tragic anytime we have to go to a juvenile death, especially an unnecessary death,” said Carly Cappetto, public information officer for the Pierce County Sheriff’s Office.

“This is an unfortunate situation. We lost a young man over something that was unnecessary and unneeded, and not only that, we have other juveniles who had to witness this and they will experience that for the rest of their life and we hope everybody will get the help that they need,” she added.

Pastor Kinson told KIRO 7 News that he heard the loud explosion from his home.

“The explosion was very very loud,” he said. “It echoed throughout this region down here. All these people and these houses heard it, including people several blocks down.”

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The pastor rushed to the church after receiving a call from one of his church members.

He said he saw another firework on the ground at the scene that was more than a foot long and a few inches wide.

Investigators said they’re not sure how the boys got a hold of the fireworks, however, they stressed setting off fireworks is illegal right now.

“We don’t know where these mortars came from. We don’t know if they’re legal or illegal,” Cappetto said. “Fireworks are extremely dangerous, especially mortars.”

After speaking with the boy’s family Tuesday, the pastor said the family is planning to host a vigil to honor their son at the church Friday at 5:30 p.m.

“It’s all about healing now. It’s a super sad event,” he shared. “This will have long-lasting effects and that the friends that were there, I saw them devastated and traumatized, and this will affect how they think for a long time.”

The identity of the victim has not been released.

No other injuries were reported.

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