Los Angeles [US], July 19: The explosion was reported at around 7:30 a.m. local time on July 18 at the Biscailuz training facility, which is owned by the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. The explosion occurred in a parking lot with many police vehicles, AP reported.
Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said the department's explosives and arson squads were undergoing intensive training when the accident occurred. The three officers killed were all veteran officers, having served the department for 19, 22 and 33 years.
Luna said it took more than four hours to secure the scene and that homicide detectives with the department are investigating the incident, with assistance from the Federal Bureau of Investigation ( FBI ). The initial investigation is looking at the incident as a training accident.
US Attorney General Pam Bondi called the explosion a "horrific incident" and federal agents were on the scene to investigate. "Prayers for the families of the officers who died," Bondi wrote on social media X.
Authorities have not yet released the cause of the incident. However, KTLA quoted a source as saying that police were in the process of removing recovered unexploded ordnance when one of the devices exploded.
Police Chief Luna said this was the worst loss of life for the department in more than 150 years, since an incident in 1857 when four officers were killed in a gunfight.
California Governor Gavin Newsom's office said the governor has been informed of the incident and pledged all state assistance.
Source: Thanh Nien Newspaper
