3 killed in explosion at Los Angeles training facility

UPDATED: Jul 19, 2025 00:23 IST

An early morning explosion on Friday at a Los Angeles law enforcement training facility left three members of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department dead, The Associated Press reported, citing authorities. The blast, which occurred around 7:30 a.m. at the Biscailuz Training Facility, is being investigated as a possible training accident.

Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department spokesperson Nicole Nishida confirmed the fatalities but said it was not immediately clear what caused the explosion or what the deputies were doing at the time. Sheriff’s homicide detectives are leading the investigation.

A law enforcement official briefed on the matter, speaking anonymously to the news agency AP, said an early theory was that the incident may have been a training accident.

Attorney General Pam Bondi addressed the tragedy in a post on X, calling it “a horrific incident.” She added, “Please pray for the families of the sheriff’s deputies killed,” and noted that federal agents are on scene gathering information.

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass also posted on X, saying that arson investigators from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), the Los Angeles Fire Department, and the LAPD bomb squad are assisting in the investigation.

California Governor Gavin Newsom has been briefed, and his office stated that the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services is in contact with the Sheriff’s Department. Newsom later shared that members of the State Fire Marshal’s office are helping at the request of the ATF.

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

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With inputs from Associated Press