On Friday, an explosion at a Los Angeles County sheriff’s training center claimed the lives of three officers, Detectives Joshua Kelley-Eklund, Victor Lemus and William Osborn.
The explosion, which occurred at the Biscailuz Center Training Academy in East Los Angeles, which opened in 2017, was reported just before 7:30 a.m. local time.
During a press conference on Friday, Sheriff Robert Luna declined to answer questions about the cause of the horrific incident, saying the investigation is still ongoing. “There’s a lot more that we don’t know than we do know,” Luna said, adding that it was too early to determine what officers were doing when the explosion occurred. “Our intent is to analyze the situation from the beginning and understand what exactly caused this tragic event,” he added.
The incident represented the largest loss of life for the department since 1857. Luna described the victims as “fantastic experts” in the LASD’s incendiary explosives department. California State University, located just north of the facility, issued a statement saying there is no threat to the campus, the explosion being an entirely isolated incident.
According to CBS reports, the Los Angeles County bomb squad responded Thursday to a Santa Monica garage where at least one grenade was found. The device was then transported on Friday to the training center, where officers worked to safely defuse it before it exploded. However, as reported by sources inside local law enforcement, the grenade exploded, killing the three officers.
After Friday morning’s incident, a task force consisting of the Los Angeles Police Department’s bomb squad, ATF, FBI and LASD returned to Santa Monica with a search warrant in order to find more explosive material.
As stated by Attorney General Pam Bondi, federal agents will now also work on the case. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem also said the agency is cooperating with local law enforcement. “I just spoke to [U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli] about what appears to be a horrific incident that killed at least three at a law enforcement training facility in Los Angeles,” Bondi said. “Our federal agents are at the scene and we are working to learn more. Please pray for the families of the sheriff’s deputies killed.”
“The thoughts of all Angelenos are with all of those impacted by this blast,” said instead Karen Bass, Mayor of Los Angeles.
