California machinist, 53, blows off his HAND 'while messing around with explosives in his backyard' - prompting cops to investigate potential ties to extremism
A California man was rushed to a hospital on Monday after blowing up his right hand while making explosives in his backyard, according to police.
Police were called to a home in the 1700 block of Mantelli Drive in Gilroy at around 2.30pm on Monday after neighbors reported a loud explosion.
Officers found a 53-year-old man suffering from a serious injury to his right hand and transported him to a trauma center for treatment. No one else was hurt in the blast.
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A 53-year-old man was rushed to a trauma center in California with a serious injury to his right hand on Monday after police say he blew it up making explosives
A neighbor said the man is a machinist who shares this home in the 1700 block of Mantelli Drive in Gilroy with his elderly mother
Members of the Santa Clara Sheriff's Office Bomb Squad arrived at the home in Gilroy to collect evidence following Monday's blast that shook nearby homes
As of Wednesday morning, the man has not been arrested, but police have not ruled out the possibility of charging him with a crime, according to KSBW.
A neighbor reported seeing smoke pouring out of a shed in the man's backyard and seeing flames in the window, before hearing him cry out, 'Help me, mom, help me.'
Another neighbor, Eileene Medina, reported hearing a 'huge boom' and likened the blast to a mild earthquake that shook her house, reported NBC4.
A search of the property turned up explosive-making materials, and the Santa Clara Sheriff's Office Bomb Squad was called to investigate and recover evidence.
'The types of explosives on-scene are still undetermined, but it does not appear to be related to a drug lab,' the Gilroy Police Department said in a statement.
A criminal investigation has been launched, with police looking to determine whether the man has any ties to far-right extremist groups.
Mantelli Drive between Rancho Hills Drive and Learnard Way will be closed up to four days
Police said the explosion in the backyard was not related to a makeshift drug lab
While law enforcement officials have not identified the injured man, a neighbor told KTVU his name is Darren Dorrell, he works as a machinist and shares the home on Mantelli Drive with his elderly mother.
'He is a good guy. He's not trying to hurt anybody. He's not a terrorist,' said Anna Smith. 'He just messes around with little explosive things that sound worse than it is. But he didn't mean any harm.'
Mantelli Drive between Rancho Hills Drive and Learnard Way will be closed up to four days while members of the bomb squad sort through the evidence.
'It’s a very slow, methodical process because we’re dealing with possible explosives,” said Gilroy police Sgt. John Ballard. 'It could be as minor as someone making homemade fireworks to something more sinister, but we don’t know at this point.'