Richmond, VA man's replacement Note 7 blows up inches from his head

Shawn Minter's replacement Note 7 (Source: NBC12) (Copyright by WSLS - All rights reserved)

By Drew Wilder, WWBT – RICHMOND (WWBT) - A Richmond man says his phone blew up inches from his head while he was sleeping.

Samsung told costumers to return the Note 7's because the phones could blow up. The company issued - what it called - a safe replacement.

Recommended Videos



Shawn Minter says he noticed his phone hadn't been charging properly and was concerned about it. Though he adds he never thought his phone -- which he was told was the safe alternative -- would blow up inches from his head.

When Minter told us his cell was blowing up, he didn't mean he was getting a bunch of texts.

"I woke up to a sound, it sounded like a spaceship was taking off," said Minter.

Not a spaceship - his Galaxy.

Samsung issued a recall warning the Note 7's could do exactly this and customers needed to get a replacement phone immediately. Well, this is the replacement phone - Minter showed us the receipts to prove it.

"The phone just burst, it was like a quick red flash. I jumped up and was standing over there where you guys are standing," Minter told us.

He watched as his phone burned, filling the room with white smoke.

"It's completely cooked and singed, glass is broken. It's beginning to come apart, the front was able to withstand... the screen is not broken on the front, but you can see the inside is cooked from the front."

Meantime, Minter says he's using an older Samsung device he had lying around the house. There's no threat of this older phone blowing up. Minter says a Samsung representative is flying to Richmond Tuesday to meet with him and run tests on the phone to figure out what happened.

Minter wants everyone else to know how close of a call this was for him - and says it could happen to you too.

"At any given time, you never know when it's going to happen, and it doesn't have to be charged up or on the charger for it to happen. So that right there, is enough to take it back," Minter told NBC12.

Samsung announced on Monday that it is halting all sales of the Galaxy Note 7 while they investigate. Minter says he isn't planning to take any legal

action just yet - he wants to wait and see what the company does about all of this.