Three killed in blast at LA police training centre
Police vehicles are seen following an explosion at the Los Angeles County Sheriff Department's Biscailuz Training Center in East Los Angeles, California, on July 18, 2025. Photo: AFP
Three people died Friday at a police training facility in Los Angeles, the US government said, with media reports saying there had been an accidental explosion.
Attorney General Pam Bondi posted on X that there "appears to be a horrific incident that killed at least three at a law enforcement training facility" and that investigators were on-site "working to learn more."
I just spoke to @USAttyEssayli about what appears to be a horrific incident that killed at least three at a law enforcement training facility in Los Angeles.
Our federal agents are at the scene and we are working to learn more. Please pray for the families of the sheriff’s…Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said "arson investagators and members of the LAPD bomb squad are assisting" at the scene in the Monterey Park area.
"The thoughts of all Angelenos are with all of those impacted by this blast," she said on X.
The City of L.A. is supporting the @LASDHQ through this horrific incident in Monterey Park.
LAFD/ATF arson investigators and members of the LAPD bomb squad are assisting at the training facility.
The thoughts of all Angelenos are with all of those impacted by this blast. https://t.co/sJ955YhslTCalifornia Governor Gavin Newsom's office said he had been briefed on "the reported explosion" and was "closely monitoring the situation."
Fox News and other US media outlets said the incident at Biscailuz Training Center appeared to have been an accident and killed at least three sheriff's deputies.
The Los Angeles Times newspaper quoted unnamed sources as saying that the facility's bomb squad was moving explosives when the blast took place.
Footage from local station KTLA, which helicoptered over the training center, showed a person in bomb disposal gear working around a truck believed to contain explosives, which law enforcement personnel had covered with a large tent.
Authorities announced they would give a press conference later in the day.