Girl, 11, suffers significant injuries in Philadelphia while handling explosive device

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) — An 11-year-old girl suffered significant injuries during an apparent incident involving an explosive device in Philadelphia, according to police.

It happened around 3:30 p.m. Thursday inside a home on the 1700 block of North Bailey Street in the city’s Strawberry Mansion section.

When Philadelphia police and fire crews got on the scene, they found an 11-year-old with a severe injury to her hand.

“Somehow, she got hold of an explosive device, and that explosive device detonated. It exploded. We believe it exploded in her hands,” said Chief Inspector Scott Small.

According to police, the 11-year-old was in a hallway on the second floor of the home when the device went off.

Neighbors told Action News it sounded like a firecracker. Shortly after hearing the noise, they said the girl ran out of the home looking for help.

According to neighbors, the 11-year-old was alert and conscious when she was taken to Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia to be treated. A family member of the young girl told Action News she is expected to be OK.

“She is expected to survive, but it is still a tragedy to have severe injuries to your hand,” Small said.

The Philadelphia Bomb Squad was on scene Thursday evening, sweeping the home to make sure there weren’t any other explosive devices. They will now work to determine what this particular device was.

“Of course, once the device detonates and explodes, you’re just going to get many fragments. So it’s hard to say exactly what type of device, how large of a device, at this time,” Small said.

A joint investigation between the Philadelphia Bomb Squad, the fire marshal, and the Philadelphia Police Special Victims Unit is now underway to determine how the child got ahold of an explosive device and what caused it to detonate.