Overview
- Family identified the victims as 13-year-old Carlos Abraham Hernandez, who died at the scene, and his older brother Christopher Benitez, who later died at a hospital.
- LASD Lt. Michael Modica said evidence indicates the brothers were assembling a device using energetic powders and plastic pipe, calling the detonation a tragic accident, with samples sent to a lab.
- A young relative injured in the explosion was treated and released from a hospital, according to fire officials.
- The two-story building was red-tagged as unsafe, displacing at least four families — 17 adults and seven children — with the Red Cross providing assistance.
- Bomb squad, Arson and Explosives Detail and Homicide Bureau personnel remain at the Purdy Avenue scene as the cause is finalized after firefighters knocked down the Jan. 27 blaze in about an hour.