Latest news with #ATF
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
Authorities obtain search warrant related to explosion that killed 3 deputies at LA County facility
Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department (LASD) homicide detectives evacuated a Santa Monica complex and are in the process of obtaining a search warrant in relation to the devastating explosion Friday morning that left multiple deputies dead at the agency's Special Enforcement Bureau in East Los Angeles. The blast, which happened at the Biscailuz Training Facility just after 7:30 a.m., killed three deputies assigned to the arson explosives detail. The fallen deputies had a combined 74 years of service, according to L.A. County Sheriff Robert Luna. No other injuries were reported, and there is no threat to the community, according to Luna. Human Remains Discovered Days After Devastating California Fireworks Facility Explosion LASD officials told Fox News Digital that the same personnel involved in Friday's fatal blast responded to a call Thursday at a complex in Santa Monica where they assisted the local police department in seizing explosives. Read On The Fox News App It is unclear if the deputies killed on Friday were examining the explosives at the time of the blast. LASD said homicide detectives are in the process of obtaining a search warrant for the Santa Monica location and "out of the abundance of caution," the LAPD bomb squad, L.A. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in Los Angeles will search the location for any potential explosive materials. "At this time, it is not determined if the devices found yesterday have any correlation to today's critical incident," officials wrote in a statement to Fox Digital. "Santa Monica PD is assisting the Sheriff's Department in this incident and have evacuated the residents in the complex. They are in the process of locating a shelter for displaced residents." The FBI and ATF are investigating the "post-blast portion" of the incident, according to Luna. The tragedy marked the largest loss of life within the department since 1857. "If you're familiar with our Special Enforcement Bureau, they're the best of the best. The individuals who work on our arson explosives detail have years of training," Luna said. "They average about 1,100 [calls] per year, so these aren't people who don't do this very often. They are fantastic experts, and unfortunately, I lost three of them today. … There are other law enforcement agencies who have bomb techs, not only around the country, around the world, that want to know what happened here. We want to make sure that we don't repeat this." Seven Missing After Powerful Explosion At California Fireworks Facility As Evacuation Orders Remain In Place Attorney General Pam Bondi wrote in a series of X posts that she spoke with Bill Essayli, U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California, and the LASD sheriff regarding the "horrific incident." "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," Bondi wrote. "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." Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem confirmed DHS is working with state and federal law enforcement in relation to the incident. California Gov. Gavin Newsom was briefed and offered full state assistance to the sheriff's office, according to a statement. Los Angeles Fire Department Capt. Erik Scott confirmed LAFD's arson and ATF members are assisting with the investigation. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass offered the city's support in an X post. "The thoughts of all Angelenos are with all of those impacted by this blast," Bass wrote. California Sheriff Says Nearly A Dozen Deputies Injured In Anti-ice Riots Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp also weighed in on social media, offering his family's prayers. "Any loss of life in law enforcement is a sad and difficult circumstance," Kemp wrote in a post. "Marty, the girls, and I are saddened by the tragedy at the @LASDHQ Sheriff's Office and are praying for the families of those killed in today's accident." Fox News Digital's Tessa Hoyos contributed to this article source: Authorities obtain search warrant related to explosion that killed 3 deputies at LA County facility Solve the daily Crossword
Miami Herald
a day ago
- Miami Herald
‘Don't Lie for the Other Guy.' ATF targets straw purchases of guns
In the year Ashley Perez has worked as a cashier for an indoor gun range, she has witnessed a grim trend that firearm retailers have seen in recent years. 'I had a homeless lady come in. ... She was trying to purchase a gun, but just with dollar bills. ... [Another time] a mother came in to buy her younger son a gun, saying, 'It's for me,' while the son was saying it's for him,' the 24-year-old described seeing last summer. Perez and her team at Top Gun Indoor Range Florida in Kendall identified the pattern in both cases almost instantly. They were tell-tale attempts at straw purchases — buying firearms for people legally prohibited from owning them. It's a federal crime that could land an a offender a $250,000 fine and a 15-year prison sentence. A 2022 act signed by then-President Joe Biden tacks on 10 more years behind bars if the gun is used to commit a felony, an act of terrorism or a drug-trafficking crime. In a public campaign, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is warning potential straw purchasers about those steep penalties. . 'The message behind the campaign is simple: If you're buying a gun for someone who can't legally own one, you are committing a crime,' said Florida Department of Law Enforcement Special Agent John Vecchio during a Friday press conference at the gun range. 'You're helping potentially arm someone with dangerous intentions.' Vecchio joined the ATF, Miami-Dade Sheriff's Office and National Shooting Sports Foundation at Top Gun to announce the newest iteration of the 'Don't Lie for the Other Guy' campaign, which aims to curb the crime. Next month, South Floridians can expect to see billboards and posters with messaging that includes 'Buy a gun for someone who can't and buy yourself 15 years in jail.' Listeners of top radio stations and podcasts will hear the same. The 25-year-old, nationwide campaign isn't changing its strategies, but instead focusing on South Florida, which is a magnet for domestic and international gun trafficking. 'The availability of firearms is higher here and the restrictions on sales are a little bit less than they are in some states,' explained Rob Cekada, the ATF's deputy director, on why the crime is prevalent in the area. 'One of the reasons we picked Miami ... there's a lot of firearms trafficking that begins here and ends up in the Caribbean and also ends up in Mexico as well.' But the real danger behind straw-purchasing, Cekada says, is how it arms South Florida felons and encourages violent crimes. The deputy director's latest investigation, he shared, is still turning up illegally traded guns at crime scenes that happened in Miami and Margate and are linked to two Florida straw purchasers who bought more than 48 firearms. A 2024 ATF report confirms the pipeline nationwide, revealing that of the 7,000+ cases between 2017 and 2021 in which firearms were peddled, 60% of the 'end users' had at least one prior felony conviction. 'Rarely do we recover a firearm at a crime scene that was purchased by the perpetrator,' said Hayden O'Byrne, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, at the briefing. He added that retailers such as Top Gun and other federal firearm licensees play a large role in preventing straw purchases, calling them 'the first line of defense.' FFLs are individuals or businesses allowed to manufacture, import and deal firearms and are required to renew the permit with ATF every three years. Because Florida gun laws require only federal firearm licensees — not private sellers — to conduct background checks when transferring firearms, employees such as Perez are crucial to preventing the crime. 'We look out for signs, that's the first thing we do. The second we see a person walk through the door, we see the way they stand, the way they're speaking, if they're grabbing their phone too much,' she said. 'We want our hands [clean], and we want to do it the right way and the legal way.' That's why the 'Don't Lie for the Other Guy' campaign is teaching retailers how to identify straw-purchasers. 'This is a two-prong approach,' said Joseph Bartozzi, president of the NSSF, which launched the campaign with the ATF in 2000. 'Part of it is we help to work with the retailers like this to teach them about how to identify the red flags.' The other half? To warn everyday people unaware of the crime's severity before they make the mistake. Bartozzi cleared up that though money is a key motivator for those initiating straw purchases, it's not the only one. Peer pressure and 'a sense of loyalty' to family or friends explain why some participate in the crime. Others are emotionally manipulated or threatened with physical harm by those barred from owning guns themselves. Some just don't know it's illegal. 'It's not just criminal, but even unwitting, law-abiding people that might be caught up with a boyfriend or girlfriend,' he said. 'We want to make sure everyone understands that it is a crime, even if it's unintentionally related to a crime that's going to be committed later on.'
CBS News
a day ago
- CBS News
ATF launches anti-gun trafficking campaign in South Florida, cracking down on "straw purchasing"
A renewed effort to stop people from buying guns for those who cannot. "I think that nobody should be buying guns for anybody else," said gun owner Waldo Toyos. "You buy your own gun, and it's your gun." Waldo Toyos is a gun owner, but doesn't think everyone should own a gun, especially those who legally cannot. "Miami and South Florida and all the way up until the Orlando area," said ATF Deputy Director Rob Cedaka. "There is a lot of firearms trafficking, and it ends here and ends up in the Caribbean. It also ends up in Mexico as well." Federal and local officials teamed up on Friday to increase awareness of their "Don't Lie for the Other Guys" campaign. "When these firearms are out there in our community and in the wrong hands, we see the results: we see the shootings, we see the robberies, we see the crimes that are occurring," said Miami-Dade Asst. Sheriff Erick Garcia. According to ATF, more than 40 illegal firearms were confiscated in Margate more than five years ago as part of a long-standing investigation. "We've seen traffickers spread themselves all around the country trying to develop targets, people that they think are easy victims to go out and willing to use their clean, criminal history, or lack of criminal history to be able to buy a firearm," said Cekada. The owner of Top Gun in Southwest Miami-Dade sees the importance of this initiative in keeping the community safe. "It's important to get the information out to customers and to prevent crimes from happening," said Steve Schack, Top Gun's owner. "If you're going out and committing a crime, whether you're purchasing a gun or doing anything that here in [Miami-Dade County], we're gonna go out, we're gonna look for you and we're gonna make an arrest," said Garcia.
Al Jazeera
a day ago
- Al Jazeera
Explosion at Los Angeles police training centre kills three officers
The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department has confirmed that an explosion at one of its training facilities in southern California killed three of its members. The explosion took place shortly after 7:30am local time (14:30 GMT) on Friday at the Biscailuz Training Facility in East Los Angeles. 'Tragically, there were three Department member fatalities. Sheriff's homicide detectives are on scene,' the department said on social media. The department described the explosion as a 'critical workplace incident'. The blast closed roads in the surrounding area, though the sheriff's department reassured locals that there was no threat to the wider community. Sheriff Robert Luna held a midday news conference not far from the blast site, where he declined to identify the three victims. He did, however, say that one had served 19 years with the force, another 22 years, and a third 33 years. 'This is unfortunately the largest loss of life for us as the LA County Sheriff's Department since 1857. Between all three sworn members, they had served our community proudly for 74 years,' Luna said. The sheriff also said the three victims were part of a special enforcement bureau tasked with arson and explosives enforcement. On social media earlier in the day, United States Attorney General Pam Bondi indicated that members of the local bureau of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) were on the ground to probe what happened. 'I just spoke to [US 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,' Bondi wrote on social media. 'Please pray for the families of the sheriff's deputies killed.' At his midday news conference, Sheriff Luna said that details about the explosion were forthcoming as the investigation was only in its initial stages. 'At this time, we do not know the cause of the explosion,' Luna said. 'There is no threat to this community. This is an isolated incident.' Luna added that he is prioritising notifying the relatives of the victims before releasing further information to the public. He has met two of the three families so far, he said. 'As you can imagine, those were extremely challenging conversations.' The sheriff also thanked the bomb squad of the Los Angeles Police Department for helping to secure the blast site. 'They immediately came out to assist after this explosion occurred to render the devices safe,' he said. 'And just so all of you know, they were just rendered safe within the last minutes, right before we walked out here, so it was still an active scene. It wasn't stable and definitely a very active crime scene.' He explained that investigators can only go on-site now that there is no further risk of explosions. 'There's a lot more that we don't know than what we do know,' he added. Luna, however, was quick to defend the professionalism of the special enforcement bureau, calling its members 'the best of the best'. 'The individuals who work our arsons explosives detail, they have years of training,' Luna said. 'Usually, the average calls that they go to in dealing with some very dangerous situations or items average about 11,000 per year. So these aren't people who don't do this very often. They are fantastic experts. And unfortunately, I lost three of them today.'
Daily Mail
a day ago
- Daily Mail
Three killed in explosion at LA sheriff's training center
Published: Updated: At least three Los Angeles Sheriff's deputies were killed in an explosion at a training center on Friday morning. Officials have not said what caused the explosion, which occurred at the LASD's Biscailuz Center Training Academy at around 7:30am local time. Sources told KTLA that all three deceased individuals were deputies. Their identities are not yet known, and it is not clear if there are any other injuries. Aerial footage from the outlet showed an LASD vehicle with a shattered rear windshield, and a backpack could be seen on the ground nearby. The blast occurred at a site that hosts the department's special enforcement bureau and the arson explosive detail, which includes bomb squads. Sources told the LA Times that a bomb squad was moving explosives when the blast occurred. Please pray for the families of the sheriff's deputies killed.' Bondi said in a follow-up statement that she had spoken with LA County Sheriff Robert Luna, and said she had deployed FBI and ATF agents to the scene. 'Please pray for the entire Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department,' Bondi said. An employee at the training center reportedly said that they initially believed the explosion was an earthquake due to its force. Barger said in a statement: 'I am heartbroken to hear of the terrible tragedy that has unfolded today at an L.A. County Sheriff's Department facility. 'I am closely tracking the situation as we learn more about what occurred and the condition of those affected. My heart is heavy, and my thoughts are with the brave men and women of the Sheriff's Department during this difficult time.
