Iowa Gender Reveal Party Leads to Death

A Knoxville, IA woman was pronounced dead at the scene Saturday when paramedics arrived.

Upon arriving on the scene, responders attempted to treat 56 year old Pamela Kreimeyer who was struck by debris caused from an explosion at a gender reveal party.

A statement was released this morning by the Marion Sheriff's Office, stating “Our investigation showed that members of the Kreimeyer family were experimenting with different types of explosive material on Friday and Saturday in an attempt to record a gender reveal that could be posted on social media for friends and family. On Saturday afternoon five family members and the expectant mother gathered and placed gunpowder in the bottom of a homemade stand that was welded to a metal base plate. A hole had been drilled in the side for a fuse, a piece of wood was placed on top of the gunpowder and colored powder was placed on top of the board. Tape was then wrapped over the top of the metal tubing, inadvertently creating a pipe bomb. Instead of the gunpowder shooting the powder out the top of the stand, the stand exploded sending metal pieces flying. One of these metal pieces struck Pamela Kreimeyer in the head causing instant death. She was standing with other family members approximately 45 feet from the device. It’s believed that the projectile that struck the victim then continued another 144 yards through the air coming to rest in a field.”

Gender reveals have seemingly gotten out of hand over the course of the last few years. In 2017 a gender reveal party sparked a fire that burned nearly 50,000 acres, causing almost $8 million in damage.