Yaseen Abumayyaleh, 23, dies after mortar-style firework explodes in Shoreview

A 23-year-old man died after a fireworks explosion on the rooftop of an abandoned building in Shoreview, Minnesota, early Sunday morning, his family says.

The Lake Johanna Fire Department said first responders were called around 1:30 a.m. Sunday to the rooftop of an abandoned building off County Road I on the former Twin Cities Army Ammunition Plant site. Yaseen Abumayyaleh's family said he was holding a mortar-style firework in the air when it exploded. He later died at the hospital.

His cousin, Abdullah Eisa, described Abumayyaleh as an accomplished realtor, a devoted student of his faith and someone deeply committed to the people around him.

"He was a visionary, he had a lot of ideas and honestly, the sky was the limit for him," Eisa said.

Thousands attended Abumayyaleh's funeral Tuesday, his family said. Eisa said the outpouring extended well beyond Minnesota.

"He knew people all the way from Australia to Canada," Eisa said. "Yaseen would be the first one to host them at his house."

"We didn't realize how much we relied on him," Eisa added.

The family is asking people to remember Abumayyaleh for how he lived, not the circumstances of his death.

The Minnesota Department of Public Safety said fireworks-related deaths are rare, but noted there have been three in the state since 2021.