Church Hill boy injured when gunpowder explodes

CHURCH HILL — Just before midnight on Aug.15, a loud explosion rocked the small Eastern Shore community of Church Hill. After hearing the blast and receiving a 911 call, paramedics from the Church Hill Volunteer Fire Company responded to the home of Amanda Unkart at Laysan Teal Court where a boy was critically injured as a result of the blast.

Paramedics arrived to find the boy suffering with injuries to his left hand and eyes. Anthony Sturgill, a close family friend, had tied a piece of a sheet around the boy’s arm as a tourniquet while they waited for help to arrive.

Sturgill reported that paramedics were on scene less than 7 minutes after the 911 call. After the initial assessment of the boy’s condition, the team worked to prepare him for transport via Maryland State Police helicopter to Johns Hopkins trauma center.

The boy was stabilized by the paramedics onboard the flight and continued to be treated after arriving at the hospital, where he was rushed into surgery.

He is currently in stable condition with non-life threatening injuries, Sturgill said.

The Maryland State Fire Marshal’s Office worked with the Queen Anne’s County Sheriff’s Office and the Maryland State Patrol to preserve the scene and determine the cause of the explosion.

What officials know at this point is that two boys were experimenting with black powder, marbles and a section of electrical conduit, trying to construct a device capable of shooting the marbles at a target set up in the backyard.

As the one boy who was injured held the device, the second boy lit the powder with a lighter. The resulting blast was heard miles away.

Both of the youths involved in the incident have grown up around firearms in the rural neighborhood and are well acquainted with firearms safety measures, Sturgill said. Family members are still trying to understand what led them to attempt such a dangerous stunt. While there are firearms kept in the home which are typically under lock and key, there were no firearms involved in this incident.