NEW: ‘Explosion’ Kills 3 Deputies At Police Training Facility

An explosion at the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Special Enforcement Bureau in the east part of the city left three deputies dead on Friday morning. The LASD, along with federal law enforcement, are now investigating the incident for what might have caused the blast.

L.A. County Sheriff Robert Luna said the explosion occurred just a little after 7:30 a.m. at the Biscailuz Training Facility. All three of the deputies who died had been assigned to the explosives detail and had a combined 74 years of service experience. As of this writing, their identities have not yet been revealed.

Sheriff Luna said there were no other injuries reported and there is no threat to the community. Sources close to the matter say the explosion was not part of any pre-planned training exercise. The explosion allegedly occurred while deputies were moving ordinance from one location to another on the property of the training facility.

The sources said they aren’t sure what might have exploded. It’s not common for the arson and explosive detail to use live ordnance. Authorities are also unsure if the blast occurred inside the arson and explosives truck or beside it.

The FBI in Los Angeles, along with the L.A. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives are now conducting a “post-blast portion” investigation into the situation.

LASD officials revealed that homicide detectives are also on the scene. This marks the largest loss of life to happen within the department since 1857.

“If you’re familiar with our Special Enforcement Bureau, they’re the best of the best. The individuals who work on our arson explosives detail have years of training,” Luna remarked. “They average about 1,100 [calls] per year, so these aren’t people who don’t do this very often. They are fantastic experts, and unfortunately, I lost three of them today. … There are other law enforcement agencies who have bomb techs, not only around the country, around the world, that want to know what happened here. We want to make sure that we don’t repeat this.”

Attorney General Pam Bondi revealed on X that she has spoken with Bill Essayli, the U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California, as well as the LASD sheriff, concerning the deadly explosion.

“I just spoke to @USAttyEssayli about what appears to be a horrific incident that killed at least three at a law enforcement training facility in Los Angeles,” Bondi told her followers. “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.”

Even Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and the department have joined with state and federal enforcement to help get to the bottom of the situation.

“We stand with our brothers and sisters of the @LASDHQ following the tragic loss of three deputies in a training facility explosion,” Los Angeles Fire Department Captain Erik Scott wrote in an X post. “Our thoughts are with all of those impacted by this blast.”