() Emergency response teams and federal investigators are working to respond to an explosion at a Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department training facility that left at least three people dead Friday morning.
A source on the ground told local affiliate KTLA that the three individuals involved were sheriff’s deputies. The Los Angeles Times reports that another person injured in the explosion was taken to the hospital and that their condition is unknown.
The explosion
The explosion occurred at 7:30 a.m. local time at an address that is associated with Biscailuz Center Training Academy, which is a Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department training facility on the east side of the city.
Sources told a KTLA reporter that the explosion came as deputies were moving an unexploded ordnance they had picked up on a call. The source said live explosives are not used for training. The LASD has not confirmed the cause.
Emergency teams responding
Emergency teams responding to the explosion include the Los Angeles Police Department and its bomb squad, the Los Angeles Fire Department, the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s press team wrote in a post on X that he is in contact with the sheriff’s department and closely monitoring the situation.
Attorney General Pam Bondi said she had spoken to the U.S. attorney for the Central District of California.
“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,” Bondi said on social media.
What is the training facility?
According to an old press release from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, the Biscailuz Center Training Academy reopened in 2014 after being closed for nearly 30 years.
The total costs for renovating the 36,000-square-foot training facility came in at approximately $22,132,000.
