Only One Grenade Exploded; The Second Device Has Vanished
Authorities said Friday that one of two grenades recovered last week from a Santa Monica apartment building remains missing, days after an explosion involving the other device killed three Los Angeles County sheriff’s detectives. According to officials, they believe that the device was not lost while being transported from Santa Monica to the downtown facility.
Sheriff Robert Luna confirmed that only one of the two grenades discovered in a tenant storage unit on July 17 has been recovered. The following morning, on July 18, that grenade detonated while in the custody of sheriff’s department personnel at the Biscailuz Training Facility in East Los Angeles, killing three members of the department’s Special Enforcement Bureau.
Kenny Cooper, special agent in charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ Los Angeles office, said during the joint LASD and ATF press conference, “I can tell you with clarity from a post-blast examination that we know one device exploded. We have not recovered any evidence from a second device on that scene.”
Luna and Cooper emphasized that anyone who spots such a device should immediately all 911 and avoid touching it.
The missing device has yet to be located despite ongoing searches of the training facility, associated vehicles, and surrounding areas, Luna said. Investigators initially believed both grenades were inert based on X-rays and planned to dispose of them safely. The surviving device has since vanished, prompting a federal investigation.
The explosion occurred around 7:30 a.m. at the sheriff’s East Los Angeles facility. The three fallen detectives, Joshua Kelley-Eklund, Victor Lemus, and William Osborn, were all assigned to the Arson Explosives Detail, a specialized unit within the department.
The grenades were found a day earlier during an investigation at an apartment complex in Santa Monica, where they were located inside a storage area in the building’s underground parking garage. The sheriff’s arson unit responded to assist local police in securing the items. The devices were transported for destruction at the department’s training grounds, where the fatal detonation occurred.
Federal agents with the ATF have assumed control of the investigation into the missing grenade and are working alongside local officials to determine the origin and ownership of the devices. Search warrants have been executed at a Marina del Rey apartment building garage and a boat docked nearby, Luna said.
The ATF has also deployed its national response team to assist with the investigation.
