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SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- Investigators are sending a home-made cannon that accidentally killed a 21-year-old Sandy man to the ATF for evaluation.
Depending on how the cannon is classified, it could have been illegal to own.
Mark Reeder was killed Monday night after shrapnel from a blast struck him in the torso. Neighbors say the explosion was so powerful they could feel it more than two blocks away.
Reeder's father, who was not there when the young man and a friend tried to fire the cannon, owned the artillery.
Police say an initial evaluation showed it would have been illegal to own, but they'll let the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives issue a more precise classification.
Investigators say it appears the two were using the wrong kind of gun powder, which caused the accident.
(Copyright 2004 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved
