By Grace Jacobson / News Director

MAYWOOD TWP., Minn. — The Benton County Sheriff’s Office is investigating a Tannerite explosion that hospitalized one man over the weekend.

Around 9:30 p.m. on Saturday, June 8, the Benton County Sheriff’s Office responded to a field in Maywood Twp. after a witnessed reported that someone was hurt after a gun shot.

First responders arrived on scene to find 26-year-old Collin Schumacher of Oak Park with a substantial injury to his abdomen.

Schumacher told officers that he and the others were in the field for recreational firearms use, including the use of Tannerite, a brand of binary explosive targets used for firearms practice.

Investigating deputies said that one of the people in the group put a “substantial quantity” of Tannerite downrange about 150 feet from the group, placed a metal barrel over it and fired a rifle through it, causing it to explode. The explosion inside the barrel caused it to rupture, sending pieces of shrapnel flying with one piece hitting Schumacher.

First responders provided first aid to Schumacher until he was airlifted from the scene and
transported to North Memorial Hospital.

No other injuries were reported and no property damage was found.