Fireworks Stolen in Burglary From Bunnell Shop Blamed For Severe Injuries to 2 Boys

On July 9, two boys, ages 7 and 8, sustained what the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office described as “life-altering injuries” when they lit fireworks that almost immediately exploded next to them. The boys required hospitalization with injuries to their faces.

The boys, Faizon Brown, 8, and Philant Butler, 7, later said they’d found the fireworks lying around as they were playing Sunday afternoon in the park next to the Carver Center on Drain Street in Bunnell.

A deputy who reported to the scene noted in an incident report that he “found multiple fragments of a hand, and blood within the women’s bathroom,” suggesting that the fireworks had been lit inside the bathroom. The fireworks are believed to have been corrupted or altered by the time they were found.

A woman who saw the children run out went to their rescue and took them to the hospital. (It’s not clear where the parents of the children were at the time. One of the children’s mother, Rochelle Brown, completed four years’ probation a year ago on charges of child abuse and contributing to the delinquency of a child.)

Today, the Sheriff’s Office traced the altered fireworks likely to a shop in Bunnell that was burglarized sometime on July 9 or 10. The two boys injured at Carver park were not involved in the burglary, the Sheriff’s Office said. The shop, Big Nic’s Boom Boom Sticks, operates for a month each year, leading up to the July 4 holiday. (The sheriff’s report lists the building’s address as 2121 North State Street, but the building in question is actually at 23 County Road 13, at the corner of U.S. 1 and County Road 13). Brett Lyons, 33, of Palm Coast, leases the property for that month from Jay Gardner, the Flagler County Property Appraiser, according to a Sheriff’s Office report.

“The guy came to me a couple of years back, said hey, I’d like to use your property for a month or so, I told him, get yourself an occupational license, knock yourself out,” Gardner said this evening. “It’s just a little thing that happens for about a month.”

Lyons told police his business sells the fireworks seasonally, and that he was in the process of removing all his property from the building but wasn’t done. He said he was last at the building at 11 a.m. on July 9. The incident involving the children at the park was reported five hours later. “All of his property was accounted for” at 11 a.m., the report states. The reporting deputy goes on: “While I was on scene, Lyons was unable to confirm if any of his property was in fact missing from within the building.”

A detective had reported to the scene after being told that “individuals had broken into” the building, the report states. Glass was
busted out of a window on the south side of the building. So was a window on the north side. The detective located suspected blood on the north side window.

“We believe the fireworks that injured the boys came from this theft at Big Nic’s Boom Boom Sticks,” Brittany Kershaw, a sheriff’s spokesperson, said today. “We do not believe the boys were involved in the theft, but they somehow came into contact with the altered fireworks and ignited them. The long sticks on the end of the firework (the silver bulb one [in the picture]) were broken off, so the fuse starts at the red tip rather than the long stick that gives the ignitor time to get away before the explosion. Dozens of boxes of fireworks were rummaged through and many were taken, we estimate several dozen, but we do not have a clear number. We do not have suspects at this time.”

Three days ago, Sheriff Rick Staly had issued a caution: “If you come across fireworks in a public place, do not touch them, call law enforcement,” he said. “We don’t want to see any more fires or more injuries as a result of illegal and improper use of fireworks.”

Today the the warning is more urgent. The Sheriff’s Office and the Bunnell Police Department are asking anyone who may be in possession of these fireworks to turn them in to any police agency or fire department immediately, no questions asked.

“The primary concern is the safety of the community and children and to get these dangerous and altered fireworks off of the streets,” Staly was quoted as saying in a release issued earlier this afternoon. “We do not want to see anyone else get hurt. These stolen fireworks have already caused permanent disfigurement to two small children and one child’s life has been changed forever.”

If you have information regarding the fireworks burglary, please contact FCSO at 386-313-4911 or call Crimestoppers at 1-888-277-TIPS (8477). You may be eligible for a reward up to $1,000 for information leading to an arrest.