A man pleaded guilty to a charge stemming from an explosion that occurred during a gender reveal party earlier this year, The Associated Press reported Wednesday.
Residents in two northeastern U.S. states told local media outlets at the time of the party in April that they heard the explosion. People located in Kingston, New Hampshire, near the quarry where the party was held told the Manchester-based WMUR-TV they were surprised to hear the sudden and loud noise. Others in nearby Plaistow told the station the blast was strong enough to cause images hung on the walls inside their homes to fall.
Some people in Massachusetts also reported hearing the explosion, according to WBTS-CD. Police told Newsweek no one was injured in connection with the blast.
A man identified as Anthony Spinelli of Kingston pleaded guilty to a charge of disorderly conduct as part of a Tuesday plea agreement, the AP reported. The Kingston Police Department confirmed Spinelli's identity when contacted by Newsweek.
In addition to the disorderly conduct charge, the AP reported Spinelli was fined $620, with the bulk of that amount having the opportunity to be suspended for a year dependent upon Spinelli's behavior.
Kingston police said in a statement shared with Newsweek the department viewed the charge filed against Spinelli as "appropriate."
"Based upon the facts, at the conclusion of the investigation, we feel that the charge and disposition were appropriate," police said.
The department's statement continued, "We are very thankful that no one was injured during the gender reveal incident, and sympathetic to the fact that it startled the community."
At the time of the spring explosion, video captured by a home's doorbell camera near the gender reveal party and shared with Boston's WBZ-TV showed the structure briefly shaking from the blast's impact. The sound of the explosion could also be heard in the background of the captured footage.
Kingston residents reported the explosion to local police, who confirmed the incident occurred as part of a gender reveal party, according to the AP. Officers said the blast was caused by 80 pounds of the binary explosive Tannerite. The U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) identifies binary explosives as comprised of two parts, each of which are not included on the ATF's List of Explosive Materials but which together create "an explosive material subject to the regulatory requirements" of the bureau.
In April, Kingston police said in a statement shared with local media outlets the people who held the gender reveal party chose the quarry to hold the explosion because they "felt it was a safe location to detonate the Tannerite."
One individual who lived near the explosion, identified by WBZ-TV as Sara Taglieri, said the blast was "over the top" and heard in "many, many towns."
"It was an explosion that rocked my house, my neighbors, my community and my town," Taglieri told the station. "Just absolutely over the top, ridiculous."
