Four people killed in house explosion were making fireworks in garage as men who ‘provided chemicals’ face murder charge
TWO men have been charged with murder after an explosion killed four people while they were allegedly assembling fireworks in a home’s garage.
Travell Eason, 16, Christopher Jones, 17, Damario Cooks, 18, and William Jones, 21 were all killed in the explosion at a house in St. Louis, Missouri on Friday around 1:20am.
The explosion destroyed the house including the garage that the victims were in, with debris flying into neighboring homes.
Authorities had previously said that the blast was caused when an adult had been showing the teens how to load the canisters and attach fuses, according to the St Louis Post-Dispatch.
A 12-year-old child also was injured, but it is not clear what condition they are in, according to the outlet.
Police have now arrested two men over the explosion, alleging that they provided the explosive powder that the four victims were using, ABC reports.
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Terrell Cooks, 37, and Seneca Mahan, 43, have been charged with three counts of second-degree murder, two counts of endangering the welfare of a child, and two counts of unlawful possession of an illegal weapon, according to charging documents.
St. Louis County prosecutors filed the charges Saturday before the fourth victim died in the hospital. It is likely they will now be charged with a fourth murder.
When police first arrived at the house, they found one person dead in the yard. Another person had burns and cuts.
According to dispatchers, police found one person with deep lacerations, possibly an amputation, near where the garage had been.
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At least two were rushed to Mercy Hospital St. Louis and one more was rushed to Christian Hospital.
Investigators with the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives found that numerous boxes of a chemical compound had been ordered online.
Terrell Cooks wasn’t at the house when it exploded, according to charging documents seen by the Post-Dispatch.
But police say witnesses identified him as one of the “leaders of the manufacturing process” in the garage.
Federal investigators also saw Terrell Cooks moving boxes of chemicals used to make explosives to his vehicle later on Friday, officials said.
When searching another residence and vehicles connected to Terrell Cooks, investigators say they found “large quantities of completed explosive weapons and components to manufacture them.”
Terrell Cooks allegedly admitted that he and Mahan made “ground salutes,” which are some of the more hazardous fireworks, according to court records.
Cooks also allegedly told police the fireworks contained an explosive charge “far in excess” of Missouri’s legal limits.
Cooks and Mahan did not have a license to make or sell fireworks.
Both men are being held in the St. Louis County jail with a cash bail of $350,000 each.
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Ankeneth Corbin, fire chief of the Black Jack Fire Protection District, told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch: “They were teenagers and kids visiting, and they were trying to make fireworks. If you buy 50 pounds of any explosive, you have just created a bomb.”
Grieving family members gathered on the property on Sunday and began to clean up the massive damage.