Santa Monica apartment is focus of probe into blast that killed 3 L.A. County sheriff's deputies
Three deputies were killed Friday in an explosion at the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department's Biscailuz Center Training Academy in East L.A. while handling explosive materials.
No cause for the blast has been determined. But the probe brought investigators Friday to an apartment complex in the 800 block of Bay Street in Santa Monica in connection with the explosion, according to department spokesperson Nicole Nishida. The three deputies killed in the blast responded to a call to assist the Santa Monica Police Department at the complex on Thursday.
Read more: 'Best of the best': What we know about the 3 L.A. County sheriff's detectives killed in explosion
A grenade was recovered at the Santa Monica apartment complex Thursday, a city police officer told The Times. Sources who were not authorized to speak publicly told The Times that investigators are trying to determine if the explosives were the ones that caused the blast.
Michael Kellman, who lives in the building, told The Times that a fellow tenant called the police Thursday after discovering a bag of grenades tucked away in her storage unit.
She has been living in the building for several years and believes the bag was left behind by the former occupant, he said. Authorities returned to her unit Friday to scour the apartment for any remaining explosives.
The Santa Monica Police Department evacuated residents from the Bay Street apartment building Friday afternoon, while authorities continue to search the location for any additional explosive material, Nishida said. The FBI and Los Angeles Police Department's bomb squad are assisting with the investigation. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is expected to lead a federal probe into the cause of the explosion.
Read more: 3 L.A. County sheriff's deputies killed in explosion ID'd; investigators search Santa Monica apartment
Nancy, who lives on Bay Street and chose not to provide a last name for privacy reasons, said officers knocked on her door late Friday afternoon and informed her that there was an 'active investigation' and she must evacuate. Nancy asked an officer whether her nanny would be able to move their car, which was in front of her home. 'No one is allowed,' the officer told her.
Friday morning, employees told The Times they heard a massive boom around 7:30 a.m. coming from the parking lot where the sheriff's bomb squad keeps its vehicles. They heard glass shattering and screaming.
Rich Pippin, president of the Assn. for Los Angeles Deputy Sheriffs, called it the 'worst day in the history of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.'
'You never get up in the morning expecting this kind of news, never, and sadly, as often as we deal with this, it does not get easier,' he said. 'It never gets easier. It hurts.'
The deputies were identified Friday evening as Dets. Joshua Kelley-Eklund, Victor Lemus and William Osborn. They had served 19, 22 and 33 years with the department, respectively, authorities said.
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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
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