Deadly Explosion Came After LA Deputies Cut Into Grenades As Training Exercise: Report

LOS ANGELES, CA — Explosives that unexpectedly detonated and killed three Los Angeles County Sheriff's deputies last week may have come from a Santa Monica storage unit.

A law enforcement source told KTLA the devices—two military-style grenades—were recovered from the unit Thursday and are believed to have caused the deadly blast the following day. Deputies reportedly thought the grenades were inert after they were X-rayed at the scene and later transported them to the Biscailuz Regional Training Center in East Los Angeles.

The source told KTLA that one of the grenades was cut open during what was described as a training exercise, triggering the explosion. The devices had allegedly been stolen by a U.S. military service member during training, KTLA reported.

The blast occurred around 7:25 a.m. Friday in the parking lot of the Biscailuz facility, located in the 1000 block of North Eastern Avenue near the 10 and 710 freeway interchange.

Three veteran deputies — Detectives Joshua Kelley-Eklund, Victor Lemus, and William Osborn — were killed in the explosion. In their honor, Board of Supervisors Chair Kathryn Barger ordered all county flags flown at half-staff.

“There are no words to express the pain and sorrow we feel,” Sheriff Robert Luna said over the weekend. “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.”

Luna described the Special Enforcement Bureau, where all three deputies served, as “the best of the best.”

Speaking at a news conference Friday, he added, “The individuals who work our arson explosives detail, they have years of training. They are fantastic experts, and unfortunately, I lost three of them today.”

According to the Los Angeles Times, the explosion is being investigated as a negligent homicide, potentially carrying criminal charges for the person responsible for making or storing the device.

The sheriff’s department confirmed the grenades were collected from a storage bin at an apartment complex in Santa Monica on Thursday. Law enforcement officials, including Santa Monica police, responded to the complex in the 800 block of Bay Street near Lincoln Boulevard, where a resident reported that old grenades were left behind by a previous tenant. The discovery prompted an evacuation of part of the building.

The grenades were transported to the Biscailuz Regional Training Center, where they are believed to have detonated.

The investigation intensified Monday, with a search warrant served at a Marina del Rey apartment as part of the widening probe. Homicide detectives, along with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the Los Angeles Police Department, searched a unit in the 13900 block of Marquesas Way, officials said.

“Investigators are following all leads and evidence to determine the origins of the devices located on Thursday,” the department said.

Officials have not disclosed what prompted the Marina del Rey search or what, if anything, was recovered.

A post-blast analysis is ongoing to confirm whether the grenades collected in Santa Monica were in fact responsible.

“These investigations take time, and we are committed to conducting a thorough examination to accurately determine the cause,” the ATF said in a statement.

Sheriff Luna called the incident the department’s largest single-day loss of life since 1857, when Sheriff James Barton and three deputies were ambushed and killed in present-day Santa Ana.

Each of the deputies killed had a long record of service and deep ties to the department:

• Detective Joshua Kelley-Eklund, who joined LASD in 2006, became a certified bomb technician in 2022. He is survived by his wife, Jessica Eklund, and their seven children.
• Detective Victor Lemus began his career in 2003 as a security assistant and later joined the Special Enforcement Bureau as a K-9 handler before training as a bomb technician. He is survived by his wife, Detective Nancy Lemus, their three daughters, and several other family members within the department.
• Detective William Osborn, a department veteran since 1992, joined the arson and explosives detail in 2019. He is survived by his wife, Detective Shannon Rincon, four sons and two daughters.

Throughout the weekend, fellow deputies and mourners gathered at the Biscailuz Regional Training Center, leaving flowers and messages in memory of the fallen detectives.

The investigation remains ongoing and is being led jointly by the ATF, the FBI, and the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.

City News Service contributed to this report.