Los Angeles illegal fireworks explosion injures at least 17 as cops perplexed by "catastrophic" mishap
At least 17 people were injured and several cars were damaged on Wednesday when a cache of illegal fireworks confiscated by Los Angeles authorities exploded. Nine LAPD officers and one Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives officer were taken to nearby hospitals, along with six civilians, CBS Los Angeles reported. A tenth police officer was hurt but not hospitalized, according to fire officials.
CBS L.A. reported that all of those injured were expected to recover, and many were quickly released from the hospital.
The Los Angeles Police Department said in a tweet that it was unsure what had caused the explosion in South Los Angeles, but CBS L.A. said 10 pounds of seized explosives were placed into a special containment unite used by the LAPD specifically to carry out controlled explosions.
The truck is designed to destroy up to 15 pounds of explosive material, but something went wrong, causing a massive blast that tore through the special truck and everything near it.
According to CBS Los Angeles, officers at the scene yelled "fire in the hole" multiple times and moved away from the trailer shortly before the explosion.
Sky9 reporter Desmond Shaw told CBS Los Angeles that he thought the explosion would be a routine detonation, "and then it just went catastrophically wrong... After it happened, we felt the blast up here, and it just kind of shook up my head a little bit."
The cache of illegal, homemade fireworks was seized from a South Los Angeles home earlier on Wednesday. The bomb squad and investigators were on the scene as officers loaded the fireworks into the containment unit on a semi-truck in an alleyway nearby.
Police Chief Michel Moore told CBS Los Angeles that officers found what he described as "improvised explosive devices," which were placed in a containment vessel, then detonated at around 6:40 p.m. Though a bomb technician believed the vessel should've been able to safely dispose of the devices, Moore said something "catastrophic" happened.
"Something happened in that containment vehicle that should not have happened, and we don't know why, but we intend to find out why," Moore told the station.
In addition to illegal fireworks, officers found two children at the home, and authorities were planning to open a child endangerment case with the Department of Child and Family Services.
A 27-year-old was taken into custody on suspicion of possession of destructive devices, possession of fireworks and child endangerment. Police claim the suspect obtained the fireworks out of state and was planning to sell them ahead of the July 4th holiday.
