ST. PAUL, Minn. — A Linwood Township man is in critical condition after the St. Paul Bomb Squad removed an unexploded firework from his chest over the holiday weekend.



The 31-year-old apparently was shooting off illegal fireworks in the 6800 block of 225th Lane in Linwood Township about 9 p.m. Saturday, May 26, when a firework intended for the sky penetrated his chest, according to Cmdr. Paul Sommer, spokesman for the Anoka County sheriff’s office.



He had placed two rounds in a mortar tube and was holding the tube when the first round shot up and exploded in the air as intended. The other came out the back, Sommer said.



“It was almost like it was fired out of a gun,” Sommer said.



The man fell to the ground, and two witnesses called 911. The man, whose identity wasn’t released, was taken by ambulance to Regions Hospital in St. Paul. Medical staff were operating on his wound when they noticed the unexploded round still in his chest. The bomb squad was called in to remove the live round.



The man remains in critical condition with massive chest trauma, Sommer said. The firework apparently tore his heart open.