A boy is in the hospital after an explosive device went off in his hands early Monday evening.
The 12-year-old boy was playing with the device in the grass near a playground on the 5000 block of Summerdale Ave. in Philadelphia around 6 p.m. He threw it but it didn't go off. He then picked it up and it exploded, according to police.
Investigators said there are conflicting reports regarding whether or not the boy actually ignited the device.
"A little kid getting worked [on], crying with blood on his hands," Tyron Herring, a witness, told NBC10.
Responding medics treated the boy on the sidewalk before he was taken to the hospital. Officials said he is missing a finger on one hand and also has severe injuries to his palm and knuckle on the other hand. He is currently in critical condition but is expected to survive.
"It bothers me though to see a child getting hurt," Herring said. "I got six kids so I know how it is. As a father, it's messed up."
Herring told NBC10 an M-80 blew up in his hand last year. Next month he's expected to undergo his third surgery due to the incident.
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"I can take the pain, it hurt though," he said. "I was gonna live though."
Investigators said the device that injured the boy was stronger than an M-80 and was at least as powerful as a quarter stick of dynamite. They also said the device was made illegally.
