3 LA County sheriff’s deputies confirmed dead in explosion at training center

An explosion in East Los Angeles Friday morning killed three Los Angeles County Sheriff’s deputies.

The blast occurred at 1060 N. Eastern Ave. at about 7:30 a.m., the Los Angeles County Fire Department said. That address corresponds with the LASD’s Biscailuz Center Training Academy.

Details are limited, and sheriff’s officials have only confirmed that there was “a loud noise,” though they’re still working to gather information.

Three people are confirmed dead, and a source tells KTLA that those involved were deputies.

Aerial footage from Sky5 shows an LASD vehicle with a shattered rear windshield and a nearby backpack on the parking lot asphalt near what appears to be the department’s explosives trucks.

Additionally, a tarp over the bomb trucks was visibly damaged, presumably in the explosion.

The cause of the explosion has not yet been disclosed, but KTLA’s Annie Rose Ramos reports that the Los Angeles Police Department’s bomb squad arrived to the training center at about 8:45 a.m.

Federal officials say they’re assisting as well.

“I just spoke to [U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli] about what appears to be a horrific incident that killed at least three at a law enforcement training facility in Los Angeles,” Attorney General Pam Bondi wrote on social media. “Our federal agents are at the scene and we are working to learn more. Please pray for the families of the sheriff’s deputies killed.”

An employee at the center told Ramos that they first thought the explosion was an earthquake, as the blast shook the ground.

Multiple reports indicate that the explosion was accidental in nature.

Luis Zuniga contributed to this report.