Explosion at Los Angeles law enforcement training facility leaves 3 people dead, officials say

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A deadly explosion that shook a law enforcement training facility in Los Angeles early Friday was being investigated as a possible training accident, officials said.

Three members of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department died in the explosion reported around 7:30 a.m. at the Biscailuz Training Facility, department spokesperson Nicole Nishida said.

It was not immediately known what caused the explosion or what the department members were doing at the time. Sheriff’s homicide detectives were on the scene.

An early line of investigation was looking at a possible training accident, according to a law enforcement official briefed on the matter who was not authorized to discuss it and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.

In a post on X, Attorney General Pam Bondi said the explosion “appears to be a horrific incident” and federal agents are at the scene to learn more.

“Please pray for the families of the sheriff’s deputies killed,” Bondi wrote.

Arson investigators from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Los Angeles Fire Department and members of the Los Angeles Police Department bomb squad were assisting at the training facility, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said in a post on X.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office said he’s been briefed and that the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services is in contact with the Sheriff’s Department and closely monitoring the situation. He later posted on X that members of the State Fire Marshal were helping with the investigation at the request of the ATF.

Aerial footage from KABC-TV shows the explosion happened in a parking lot filled with sheriff patrol cars and box trucks. Three covered bodies could be seen near a truck with a ramp attached to a side door. A sheriff’s patrol cruiser parked nearby had its rearview mirror shattered by the blast.