Cannon injures 3 at July Fourth event

ROCHESTER, Wash. – Metal shrapnel from an exploding cannon injured three people, including an 11-year-old boy, during a Fourth of July gathering in the Thurston County community of Rochester.

Sheriff’s Sgt. Cheryl Stines said the cannon exploded about 10:30 p.m. Friday and that the boy was taken to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle with “severe lacerations” to his leg and abdomen.

Stines said two adults also were injured.