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Three officers were killed in an explosion at a law enforcement training facility in East Los Angeles, officials say.<\/p>\n The blast occurred at around 07:30 local time (15:30 BST) on Friday at the Biscailuz Center Academy Training facility, which houses the Sheriff’s department’s special enforcement bureau and arson explosives detail, including the bomb squad.<\/p>\n The exact cause of the explosion is still under investigation, but Sheriff Robert Luna of the LASD described it as “an isolated incident”. There were no additional injuries. <\/p>\n The three officers killed in the blast were “fantastic experts” and veterans of the department, each serving between 19 to 33 years, the sheriff said. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n Authorities have not released the names of the deceased officers, citing the need to notify their families first. All three were assigned to the sheriff department’s arson explosives detail.<\/p>\n Friday’s incident represents the department’s largest loss of life in a single incident since its founding in 1857, Sheriff Luna said.<\/p>\n “We have to go back and investigate what happened from the very beginning,” he said. The FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are assisting with the investigation. <\/p>\n US Attorney General Pam Bondi called the incident “horrific” and said federal agents had been deployed on the scene and “working to learn more”.<\/p>\n Authorities say the explosion took place in the parking lot of the facility’s special enforcement bureau. <\/p>\n According to the BBC’s US partner CBS, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department’s bomb squad responded to a Santa Monica garage on Thursday where at least one grenade was found.<\/p>\n The grenade was transported to the training facility on Friday, where officers were reportedly working to render it safe before it exploded, CBS reported citing police sources.<\/p>\n The area surrounding the facility was evacuated and has since been sealed off as investigators continue to work at the scene.<\/p>\n California Governor Gavin Newsom was briefed about the explosion and was “closely monitoring the situation”, his office said in a statement on X.<\/p>\n Newsom’s office added that state assistance has also been offered to help respond to the incident. <\/p>\n Kathryn Barger, Chief of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, wrote in a statement that she was “closely tracking the situation as we learn more about what occurred and the condition of those affected”. <\/p>\n “My heart is heavy, and my thoughts are with the brave men and women of the Sheriff’s Department during this difficult time,” she said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n