Owner of exploded Michigan building arrested at airport while trying to leave US, authorities say

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• Multiple victims, including children, pregnant woman injured in Detroit park shooting
• Georgian lawmakers move closer to passing ‘Russian law’ targeting the media. Protesters gather again
• Police situation taking place on Detroit’s west side
• More from CBS News
• Cause of Ann Arbor explosion not yet known
• Washtenaw Co. house explosion that killed 4, injured 2 heard miles away; cause under investigation
• News
• Michigan man charged with manslaughter in deadly building explosion

A man who is believed to be the girl’s father is in critical condition, Barton said. A woman who was in the house and who authorities believe is the child’s mother suffered burns but her injuries are not considered life-threatening. The cause of the explosion is unclear and currently under investigation, according to state police. Andrea Vacchiano is a breaking news writer for Fox News Digital and Fox Business. The exposed basement of the destroyed house was visible, along with wrecked vehicles.

Multiple victims, including children, pregnant woman injured in Detroit park shooting

“I live about 100 yards from him and by the time I drove there, there was still stuff falling from the sky,” they told the outlet. He added, "Police and fire personnel learned that there were [six] occupants in the residence and began a search of the area for the occupants while fire personnel worked on extinguishing the fire." Lt. David Powell of Northfield Township Police said in a release posted to Facebook that the incident took place on Dec. 30, 2023, when police and fire agencies were dispatched to a home for an "unknown explosion." Police provided an update Saturday night and announced another person had died, bringing the total to four. Natural gas company DTE Energy responded to ensure the scene was safe, as did local fire and hazmat crews.

Georgian lawmakers move closer to passing ‘Russian law’ targeting the media. Protesters gather again

Paul Schrems, who lives several blocks from where the blast took place, said he was sitting in his living room when the explosion took place. Kestou has been released from jail after posting a $500,000 bond. Lucido said authorities have his passport and that a condition of bond is that Kestou has to wear a GPS tether.

Police situation taking place on Detroit’s west side

When rescuers arrived at the location of the explosion that could be heard 9 miles away, they found three residents of the home in the 8200 block of Winters Lane dead, Northfield Township police said. Three other residents were taken to a nearby hospital, one of whom later died. Township officials previously said the site, a former Save-A-Lot retail and warehouse store, wasn't supposed to have butane and nitrous oxide tanks inside.

If Kestou posts bond, he must wear a GPS tether, surrender his passport, not leave the state, and have no weapons, according to the prosecutor's office release. Kestou was ordered held in the county jail on a $500,000 bond during an arraignment in Clinton Township. A not-guilty plea was entered, according to district court records. "We are taking a very aggressive stance in the community," Duncan said.

Cause of Ann Arbor explosion not yet known

Canisters propelled into the air and rained down throughout the area, with various types of debris found more than a mile away. Duncan said the state needs to make changes so if a business refuses to let the city in or cooperate with them, that they can go in and look around regardless. Clinton Township Supervisor Robert Cannon said he wants to stop an explosion like this from happening anywhere else. "We believe wholeheartedly that was the appropriate charge," Lucido said.

After first responders rushed to the scene of a house explosion in rural Northfield Township on Saturday, the race was on to locate and treat victims amid the burning remains of the home. The preliminary investigation found that an "undetermined fuel-air explosion" leveled the home, according to Powell, who added that testing is still underway to determine if a propane or natural gas leak caused the disaster. Richard Bragg, the owner of the house, remained in a hospital Tuesday in critical condition, Powell said. Don and Hope Bragg's youngest child, 16-year-old Steven Bragg, was also hospitalized with critical injuries, Powell said.

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Paul Brouwer, the township's emergency management coordinator, previously said the debris field from the blaze and explosions was 1 mile across and dozens of canisters were found embedded in yards. Scott Kleinfeld, the township's assistant superintendent of public works, previously said crews gathered debris from a 2-mile radius. Duncan said since the explosion, his department has been going to local businesses and asking to check their back rooms to see if they have legal amounts of nitrous oxide or butane. He said they've found many people don't know how much they're legally allowed to have, or that there is a legal limit. Lucido said the involuntary manslaughter charge was the "highest" prosecutors could bring at this time. He did not rule out the possibility that there would be additional charges against Kestou or other people, though he declined to elaborate.

Kestou was transported back to Michigan Wednesday and arraigned Thursday on one count of involuntary manslaughter. The charges stems from an explosion on March 4 at a building owned by Kestou. Inside the building an estimated 100,000 vape pens were being stored along with butane canisters. When the explosion happened thousands of pens and canisters became projectiles, with some being found nearly two miles away from the explosion site. Authorities in Michigan say four people have died and two others were injured in a house explosion 45 miles west of Detroit that could be heard from miles away and destroyed the home entirely, leaving only the basement intact. Lucido, Township Supervisor Bob Cannon and Township Police Chief Dina Caringi plan to give an update on the explosions and fire during a news conference Friday at the township's police headquarters.

Township officials previously said the owner and employees had been cooperative in the investigation. Canisters as well as knives and blades that were inside the building were tossed into the air, raining down on police and fire crews as well as other properties. Cannon previously said the knives were legal, the canisters were not. Building Superintendent Miller said while building inspections are regulated by state code, there are licensing requirements ordinances they are looking into possibly changing. Township officials will have to go through the township attorney to see the legality of any changes they are considering, he said. "He wouldn't have been storing these if he hadn't been selling them to others out there," Duncan said.

The house was completely destroyed in the explosion that triggered a massive fire. "I heard what sounded like a bomb and the whole house shook," Schrems told USA TODAY. "I put on my coat and decided to see what happened. Cops rushed down... I followed them and saw the whole house on fire. Hopefully everyone made it out safely." "We're hoping when this is all said and done, not only are the people who did this punished, but those who might be (hoarding nitrous and butane) are caught before they get to this point," Cannon said at the Friday press conference. The official cause of the fire has yet to be revealed, but multiple residents say there was a strong gas smell shortly before the explosion happened. FOX 2 Detroit reported that the explosion took place on Winters Lane.

3 children injured by house explosion in Detroit - FOX 2 Detroit

3 children injured by house explosion in Detroit.

Posted: Tue, 27 Feb 2024 08:00:00 GMT [source]

Saturday at a residence on Winter Lane, a private, dead-end road that parallels U.S. 23 on the west side of the highway, just west of Whitmore Lake, and about a dozen miles north of Ann Arbor. The explosion destroyed the home, about 45 miles (72 kilometers) west of Detroit. The Braggs were visiting Michigan for the holiday, Lt. David Powell said.

They said butane and nitrous oxide, lighter fluid, vape pens and canisters measuring 12 to 18 inches and weighing 10 to 15 pounds exploded during the blaze. Turner Salter, 19, of Clinton Township, a bystander, died after he was hit in the head with a projectile about a quarter mile from the business. According to prosecutors, the teen was struck by a nitrous oxide canister. Township firefighter Matt Myers was also injured when debris came through the windshield of a vehicle and glass clipped the side of his face, officials previously said.