Explosives Found in Storage Unit May Have Caused Death of 3 LA County Sheriff's Deputies

Investigation into Deputy Fatalities

• 🔍 The LA County Sheriff's Department is investigating the explosion that killed 3 deputies on Friday during a training facility incident.
• 💡 New information from an unconfirmed source suggests the explosion may have originated from military grenades found in a storage unit.

Discovery of Military Grenades

• 📍 On Thursday, the Sheriff's Arson Explosives Detail responded to an apartment building in Santa Monica to dispose of 2 military grenades.
• 🎖️ The grenades were reportedly stolen during training by a former U.S. military member.
• 🧐 Deputies X-rayed the grenades on-site and believed them to be inert before transporting them to their East LA headquarters.

Tragic Training Exercise

• 💥 The following morning, believing the grenades were safe due to prior X-rays, deputies in the Arson Explosives Unit decided to cut one grenade in half for a training exercise.
• ⚠️ This action led to the device exploding, tragically killing the 3 deputies.
• 🚨 The source described the incident as a tragic mistake or accident, but the Sheriff's Department has not confirmed this information and states the explosion is still under investigation.

Honoring the Fallen Deputies

• 🕯️ The three deputies killed had a combined 74 years of service to the Sheriff's Department.
• 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Joshua Kelley Eklund, who joined in 2006, leaves behind a wife and 7 children.
• 👨‍👩‍👧 Detective Victor Lemus, who joined in 2003, was married with 3 daughters.
• 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Detective William Osborne, a long-time arson investigator since 1992, leaves behind a wife and 6 children.
• 🗓️ Plans for a public memorial service have not yet been announced.