A Michigan couple tied balloons to the mailbox and set out a chalkboard with a hand-drawn sign announcing their baby shower on Saturday. To mark the occasion, the expectant parents in Gaines Township, Mich., fired a celebratory cannon as the small party stood outside in the snow in the backyard.

But the plan went horribly wrong when the gunpowder inside the cannon exploded, fracturing its metal frame and launching shrapnel into the air.

One piece of the cannon flew about 10 to 15 feet and struck 26-year-old Evan Thomas Silva in the chest, seriously injuring him, Michigan State Police said in a statement to WJRT on Sunday. The man, who was a friend of the hosts, later died at Hurley Medical Center in nearby Flint, Mich.

Metal shards flew as far as 25 feet, police said. Pieces of the cannon also hit three parked cars and a garage, but no one else was harmed, the Detroit Free Press reported.

The homeowner had purchased the cannon at an auction and previously fired it on multiple occasions, MLive.com reported. Police described the device as similar to a "signal cannon," which is often used as a novelty. The cannon should have set off a loud bang, a flash of light and a puff of smoke, police said.