Overview
- A search warrant affidavit obtained Wednesday reveals that bomb squad technicians X-rayed military-style grenades recovered in a Santa Monica storage unit and believed the devices were inert before moving them to the Biscailuz Training Academy.
- On July 18 at the East Los Angeles facility, a grenade detonated during handling and killed Detectives Joshua Kelley-Eklund, Victor Lemus and William Osborn in the LASD’s most lethal single incident since 1857.
- Investigators have executed follow-up warrants at the Santa Monica storage complex, a Marina del Rey boat and additional storage units linked to a former tenant.
- The LASD homicide bureau is leading the probe with assistance from the ATF, LAPD and FBI, and the ATF’s National Response Team is reconstructing the blast.
- Officials caution that determining why the devices were misidentified and assessing bomb-squad handling protocols could take weeks or months.