Blood and shrapnel: Bomb set off at Manville, NJ block party

MANVILLE — Police are looking for whoever set off an explosive device near a block party Saturday night that sent shrapnel flying into a man's torso.

Deputy Police Chief Craig Jeremiah said an “improvised fireworks device” was detonated at Cooper Street Park around 8:15 p.m. as a neighborhood block party was going on nearby.  The New Jersey State Police Bomb Squad was called to the park after the explosion.

A 34-year-old man struck in the stomach was flown to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, according to police.  Jeremiah did not say how close the man was to the explosion.

Witnesses told CBS New York shrapnel struck a car parked in a driveway shattering the windshield and put a hole in the siding of a house.

ALSO READ: July 4 fireworks cause major 4,000 acre wildfire in state forest

Temporary hearing loss

One witness told CBS New York the loud explosion caused her to temporarily lose her hearing. Those at the party picked up pieces of the shrapnel and put them in plastic sandwich bags.

Surveillance video of the explosion obtained by CBS New York shows someone lighting the device in the park and then running away just before it went off.

An investigation is ongoing.

Jeremiah asked anyone with information about the explosive device to call 908-725-1900 or the Manville Police Tips Line at 908-725-1900 Ext. 3 to provide information anonymously.