Girl, 16, severely injured by illegal explosive in Philly
The explosion in East Germantown occurred a day after a 12-year-old boy in Kensington lost part of his left hand from a suspected illegal explosive.
A 16-year-old girl lost most of her right foot during an explosion likely caused by an illegal firework Wednesday night in the city’s East Germantown section, police said.
Less than 24 hours earlier, a 12-year-old boy in Kensington lost part of his left hand from a suspected illegal explosive.
About 8:25 p.m., police and medics were called to the 5500 block of Blakemore Street for a report of an explosion and injury and found the injured girl at a friend’s house, said Chief Inspector Scott Small.
The teen was transported to Einstein Medical Center and was expected to survive but had lost nearly her entire right foot, Small said.
The police Bomb Squad responded to the scene and a preliminary investigation determined that the girl was with her friend, a 19-year-old woman who lives at the house, and the woman’s younger brother in an upstairs bedroom when the device exploded.
“It blew a hole in the floor” about 12 inches wide, Small said. “You could see down into the first floor.”
The investigation was ongoing.
On Tuesday night around 9:30, a 12-year-old boy was at G Street and Allegheny Avenue when an explosive he was handling detonated.
Nearby police heard the explosion and rushed the boy and his mother to St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children.
The boy lost several fingers, Small said.
That case was still under investigation.