Overview

• At about 7:25 a.m. on July 18, an explosion at the Biscailuz Center Training Academy in East Los Angeles killed three sheriff’s deputies and wounded a fourth.
• The blast occurred adjacent to a bomb squad vehicle as deputies were moving unexploded ordnance recovered the night before.
• The FBI, ATF, Los Angeles Police Department bomb squad and state emergency services are collaborating on the scene under directives from U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi and Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office.
• Officials have released no definitive cause and are examining site evidence to assess failures in explosives handling and interagency coordination.
• This incident follows a March 2024 SWAT training facility explosion in Irvine, prompting renewed scrutiny of safety protocols at high-risk law enforcement academies.