Officials: 7 hurt in explosion at Maryland nail salon

WOODLAWN, Md. (AP) — Seven people, including police officers and EMS personnel, were injured in an explosion at a Maryland nail salon on Monday night, officials said.

Baltimore County police officers responded to a disturbance at a Woodlawn nail salon and encountered a person who refused to leave, police said in a news release. He refused to follow officers’ commands and ran to the back of the store where he started a fire that produced an explosion, police said.

Firefighters found smoke coming from the rear of the salon and extinguished a fire quickly, fire officials said. The blaze did not spread to neighboring businesses, but they were damaged by the blast, officials said.

The man was taken into custody, then taken to a hospital with life-threatening injuries, police said. Four officers and two volunteer EMS personnel were taken to a hospital with injuries that were not considered life-threatening, and all but one officer had been released by Tuesday, officials said.

The man, who is believed to be a former employee at the salon, remained at the hospital Tuesday, according to detective Trae Corbin. Police and fire officials are investigating and charges are pending, police said.