Three Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department detectives were killed Friday in an explosion at a training facility in East Los Angeles, a tragedy Sheriff Robert Luna called his agency’s deadliest day since 1857.
Detectives Joshua Kelley-Eklund, Victor Lemus and William Osborn were identified by the department around 6:45 p.m. Friday as the personnel killed. They were all assigned to Special Enforcement Bureau’s Arson Explosives Detail, according to the department.
“There are no words to express the pain and sorrow we feel,” Luna said in a statement. “These heroes represented the best of our department, exemplifying courage, integrity and selfless service. This is not only a heartbreaking loss for their families, but for all of us.”
The blast was reported at 7:25 a.m. in the 1000 block of North Eastern Avenue, southwest of the interchange of the San Bernardino (10) and Long Beach (710) freeways, according to the Sheriff’s Information Bureau.
“There is definitely a black cloud hanging over the Los Angeles County sheriff’s department and our county family,” Luna said during a midday news conference near the facility.
The sheriff assured the community the blast was an “isolated incident” and there was no lingering threat to the community. While the blast occurred around 7:25 a.m., Luna said the site where the blast occurred was not rendered safe by investigators until late morning.
“We don’t know the cause of the explosion, however, the specific area has been closed off,” Luna said.
Luna would not confirm reports suggesting that the explosion involved unexploded ordnance that had been seized on Thursday. However, on Friday, Santa Monica police, along with county and federal investigators, were seen searching an apartment complex near Lincoln Boulevard and Bay Street.
A resident of that complex told KTLA5 at the scene that police and sheriff’s officials had been at the building on Thursday to retrieve some old grenades that a tenant found in a storage unit, apparently left behind by a previous tenant.
The search on Friday afternoon prompted an evacuation of at least part of that apartment complex as investigators swept the property for any additional potentially dangerous materials.
Friday’s blast occurred at the Biscailuz Regional Training Center, which serves the sheriff’s Special Enforcement Bureau’s Arson/Explosives Detail.
Osborn graduated from the deputy sheriff academy in February 1992 and Kelley-Eklund in March 2006.Lemus joined the department on July 1, 2003 as a security assistant and graduated from the academy later that year, according to the department.
“There’s a lot more we don’t know than we do know,” Luna said, adding, “We want to make sure we know what happened. We don’t want a repeat of this.”
The Los Angeles County Fire Department responded to a report of a possible explosion at 7:27 a.m.
Despite initial reports to the contrary, Luna said no one other than the three fallen deputies was injured.
A neighbor told reporters at the scene that the blast was loud enough to wake him up.
Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors chair Kathryn Barger directed that county flags be flown at half-staff in honor of the fallen deputies.
A law enforcement procession began around 5 p.m. Friday to transfer the deputies’ bodies from the training center for the medical examiner’s office. Dozens of sheriff’s deputies stood in formation and saluted as the bodies were carried to a trio of medical examiner vans for the journey.
The vans were then escorted by deputies and other law enforcement representatives on the drive.
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi was among the federal officials to comment, saying on X that she had spoken with both Luna and U.S. Attorney in Los Angeles Bill Essayli. She also confirmed that the FBI and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were assisting with the investigation.
“Our federal agents are at the scene and we are working to learn more,” she wrote. “Please pray for the families of the sheriff’s deputies killed.”
ATF announced it has activated its National Response Team to deploy to the scene of the explosion. The team consists of special agents, certified fire investigators, a forensic chemist, intelligence research specialist, certified explosives specialist, law enforcement training specialist, fire protection engineer, electrical engineer and an accelerant detection dog with handler, according to the bureau.
Past team activations include more than 200 fire scenes resulting from the civil unrest throughout the Midwest in 2020 following the in-custody death of George Floyd, a series of bombings in Austin, Texas in 2018; and the 9/11 terrorist attack on the Pentagon.
Luna called Friday’s blast “the largest loss of life for us as the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department since 1857.” That was when Sheriff James Barton and several members of his posse, including three deputies, were ambushed in present-day Santa Ana by criminals they were pursuing. Barton died just three weeks into his second term, according to a sheriff’s department online historical timeline.
Friday’s tragedy is believed to be the worst involving an Los Angeles-area law-enforcement bomb squad since a February 1986 explosion on Vanscoy Avenue in North Hollywood that killed two Los Angeles Police Department bomb squad members.
That blast took the lives of the head of the LAPD bomb squad and another veteran squad member who were attempting to defuse a booby-trapped pipe bomb in the garage of a home where, several hours earlier, a suspect had been removed in connection with an ambush shooting.
Los Angeles County Supervisors Hilda L. Solis and Janice Hahn joined Barger in expressing sorrow and support following the explosion.
Solis said she was deeply saddened by the loss and was in contact with Luna. Barger also expressed sympathy and said her thoughts are with the department and victims’ families. Hahn called the deadly explosion “an extraordinarily painful day.”
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said the city was supporting the investigation with Los Angeles Fire Department arson investigators and LAPD bomb squad personnel.
“The thoughts of all Angelenos are with all of these impacted by this blast,” Bass said on X.
LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell, the sheriff from 2014-18, expressed deep sadness “by the tragic loss of life.”
“On behalf of the entire LAPD, I want to offer our heartfelt condolences to the families, friends, and colleagues of the fallen deputies.”
Gov. Gavin Newsom said he was briefed on the blast, and that the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services was in contact with the sheriff’s department and closely monitoring the situation, offering “full state assistance.”
Newsom’s office also announced the state had deployed investigative personnel from the Office of the State Fire Marshal at the request of the ATF. Those investigators were en route, he said.
Sen. Adam Schiff, D-California, called the incident “an unbelievable tragedy” and added that he is “praying for the deputies’ families and every member of the sheriff’s office.”
Rep. Judy Chu, D-Monterey Park, said on X that she was “heartbroken by the tragic news of the explosion … that claimed the lives of three brave deputies.”
“I am monitoring the situation closely,” she wrote. “My deepest condolences go out to the families, friends and fellow law enforcement officers mourning this unimaginable loss.”
The Riverside County Sheriff’s Department posted its condolences on X, accompanied by an image of three sheriffs’ badges draped in black mourning ribbons.
“Our hearts are heavy as we mourn alongside our brothers and sisters of the @LASDHQ on the loss of three deputies who tragically lost their lives this morning. (Praying hands emoji),” the department posted. “Prayers for family, friends and the entire #LASD.”
