A military-style grenade caused last week’s accidental explosion that killed three Los Angeles sheriff’s deputies at a training facility, the LA County Sheriff’s Department said on Monday.
The cause was revealed after the sheriff’s department investigated a Santa Monica apartment complex on Monday concerning Friday’s explosion. A former ex-military tenant allegedly left behind grenades at the apartment complex, according to sources cited in news reports.
The department noted investigators are following “all leads and evidence to determine the origins of the devices.”
The explosion occurred Friday morning at the Biscailuz Center Training Academy in East Los Angeles. The victims were identified later that day as Joshua Kelley-Eklund, Victor Lemus, and William Osborn.
The three deputies were moving arson and explosives units in the training center’s parking lot when the blast occurred. They responded to a call at the complex, where they found the explosive devices on Thursday.
The three officers were part of the bomb squad that X-rayed two grenades, initially believed to be inert. However, when they tried cutting one of the grenades in half as part of a training exercise, the device detonated.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives was continuing to investigate whether the grenades were the cause of the explosion, the sheriff’s department said.
The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s Office deemed the explosion an accident, noting in the coroner’s report that the arson and explosives technicians exhibited “multiple blast injuries.”
WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT ARSON AND EXPLOSIVES UNITS AFTER BLAST AT TRAINING FACILITY IN LOS ANGELES
Kelley-Eklund, Lemus, and Osborn collectively had 74 years of service with the sheriff’s department, according to authorities, with each having served in the military.
Memorial services for the deputies will be announced soon, the department said.