A 19-year-old Allegheny County man is facing felony arson and explosives charges after police say he threw a lit M-80 firecracker into a Slippery Rock Township home early Sunday morning while people were inside. Konner Elias Hummel, of Elizabeth Township, was charged Thursday with a mix of felony and misdemeanor offenses tied to the incident on the 200 block of Cobblestone Lane.
State police were dispatched to the scene at about 2:32 a.m. Sunday, Oct. 25, after someone reported a burglary in progress, according to butlereagle.com. When officers arrived, they found multiple front windows of the home damaged along with the frame of a rear door, the outlet reported.
Investigators said video and photos appeared to show Hummel breaking a window on the homeowner's vehicle before lighting the M-80 and throwing it at the residence, according to the Butler Radio Network account of the charges. Police said there were multiple people inside the house at the time of the explosion. Footage reportedly taken by the victim was used by officers to help build the case against Hummel, per that report.
Suspects Fled Before Police Arrived
Hummel and other unnamed individuals involved in the incident fled the scene before officers reached Cobblestone Lane, according to the Butler Radio Network account. Despite that initial getaway, multiple people were ultimately detained by a combination of state police, Slippery Rock police and university officers, the same report noted, through Butler Radio Network's coverage of the case.
Hummel now faces felony counts of arson and possession of explosive material, along with misdemeanor counts of reckless endangerment and criminal mischief, per the butlereagle.com report. As of Thursday's filing, his preliminary hearing had not yet been scheduled, the outlet noted.
What Pennsylvania Law Says About the Charges
Under Pennsylvania's criminal code, intentionally causing an explosion that recklessly places another person in danger of death or bodily injury can rise to a first-degree felony, according to Title 18 of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes. The same section of state law classifies possessing, manufacturing or transporting an explosive device or material with intent to use it in such an offense as a third-degree felony.
Separately, reckless conduct that places or may place another person in danger of death or serious bodily injury is defined as a second-degree misdemeanor under a different section of Title 18. Those statutory definitions outline the general legal framework for the categories of charges filed against Hummel, though the case itself remains in its early stages with no hearing date yet set.
