More Details About L.A County Sheriff Training Center Deadly Explosion:
At least three deputies lost their lives Friday morning when an explosion rocked the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Biscailuz Training Center in East L.A., multiple law-enforcement sources say.
The blast hit around 7:30 a.m. on Eastern Avenue, at a facility used by the Special Enforcement Bureau and the arson-explosives unit, including the bomb squad.
Sheriff Robert Luna told reporters the three fallen deputies were veterans of the arson-explosives detail with service times ranging from 19 to 33 years. Luna added, “This is, unfortunately, the largest loss of life for us at the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department since 1857.”
Preliminary reports suggest the deputies were preparing to move an unexploded ordnance recovered during an earlier call when the detonation occurred, two sources said. They cautioned that the inquiry is still underway.
Early accounts indicated a fourth person had been hurt, but the sheriff later confirmed there were no other injuries. The names of the three deputies have not yet been released, though Luna stated he had spoken to two families.
According to “L.A TIMES” As you can imagine, those conversations were heartbreaking, Luna said, his voice cracking.
Around the region, bomb squads collect suspected explosives nearly every day. Still, every call feels touchy; age and stability of materials are rarely clear, law enforcement sources told The Times. After the detonation, the LAPDs unit moved in to secure any leftover hazards. Luna noted that officers spent several hours carefully disarming what they found.
Investigators from the FBI and from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives also arrived to help sort out the blast. Even now, authorities are trying to fit all the pieces together.
Around 7:30 a.m. employees reported hearing a huge boom from the lot where the sheriffs bomb trucks are parked. Shattering glass and shouting came right after.
(Carlin Stiehl / Los Angeles Times)
Radio logs obtained by The Times show a dispatcher calling in an, explosion with three down. Later, she echoes a weapon-team leader: do not approach.
Officials spread a huge tarp over the blast zone to limit any potential spread. Still, less than 25 yards away the windows of an SUV-style cruiser had been blown out. A sheriff’s helicopter kept a steady circle overhead while several emergency trucks rolled into the facility. Meanwhile, officers guided civilian cars out of the crowded parking lot.
Video from the scene later showed a bomb tech in a heavy blast suit slowly stepping toward the site. He carefully lifted a piece of evidence, then walked back to the main gathering spot where investigators were waiting.
Former L.A. County Sheriff Alex Villanueva told KTLA-TV that the arson-explosives team on duty includes the department’s most seasoned experts.
The loss is simply staggering, he said. Its going to take a long time to figure out how and why it happened, and whether it could have been stopped.
Ed Nordskog, a former investigator from the department’s arson-explosives team and a 34-year veteran, said the agency bomb squad is one of the largest and busiest in the country. Every single day the unit rushes to collect military ordnance dating back to World War I, commercial explosives from quarries, blasting dynamite, suspicious packages, and homemade or improvised devices.
According “MSN” The blast and the lives lost sent shock waves through Los Angeles County and left many questions still hanging. L.A. County Supervisor Kathryn Barger said she was “heartbroken to hear of the terrible tragedy that has unfolded today at an L.A. County Sheriff’s Department facility.”
“I’m heavy-hearted,” she continued, “and my thoughts are with the brave men and women of the Sheriff’s Department during this difficult time. I will stand with them and their families as they navigate the hours and days ahead.”
Gov. Gavin Newsoms office said he had been briefed on the explosion, and the California Office of Emergency Services is “closely monitoring the situation and has offered full state assistance.”
U.S. Atty. Gen. Pam Bondi called the situation a horrific incident in a statement Friday. Our federal agents are on-site now, and we are trying to learn more, she said. Please keep the families of the sheriff’s deputies who were killed in your prayers.
The Biscailuz Training Center trained new deputies from 1946 until 1984, when overcrowding forced that operation to move. A 36,000-square-foot renovation wrapped up in 2017 and reopened the building for its officers.
Yet other dangers still haunt training days: four fires at mobile shooting ranges—big trailers where deputies practice with guns—have troubled the department during the past twelve years.
