Firefighters, Riverside County Sheriff's Office deputies and Southern California Edison workers respond to the scene where a commercial truck struck and above-ground electrical vault and two vehicles outside of the Holiday Inn Express on the 74000 block of Highway 111 in Palm Desert, Calif., Saturday, May 17, 2025.
Los Angeles, California – A devastating explosion at a Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department facility early Friday morning claimed the lives of three deputies assigned to the department’s elite Arson Explosives Detail. The blast occurred just after 7:30 a.m. at the Biscailuz Regional Training Center in East Los Angeles, where investigators say the deputies were in the process of moving undetonated ordnance recovered the night before.
The fallen deputies have been identified as Detective Joshua Kelley-Eklund, Detective Victor Lemus, and Detective William Osborn. All three were members of the LASD Special Enforcement Bureau—an experienced, specialized unit responsible for handling some of the department’s most dangerous operations.
Law enforcement officials say the deputies were performing a routine yet perilous task: securing and relocating explosive material for safe disposal. It was during that process, according to preliminary accounts from law enforcement sources, that one of the devices detonated.
The force of the explosion was powerful enough to damage nearby vehicles and equipment. Aerial images from the scene showed an LASD truck with its rear window shattered and a scorched tarp covering part of a bomb disposal vehicle. A backpack lay abandoned on the asphalt nearby, grim evidence of the deputies’ interrupted work.
Though initial reports suggested others may have been injured, Sheriff Robert Luna confirmed later that no one else was harmed in the blast. Still, the emotional toll on the department and the broader Los Angeles law enforcement community is profound.
“There are no words to express the pain and sorrow we feel,” Sheriff Luna said at a press briefing. “These heroes represented the best of our Department, exemplifying courage, integrity, and selfless service.”
Support poured in from across the state and beyond. Governor Gavin Newsom’s office pledged full state assistance in the investigation, while federal agents were dispatched to the scene. The LAPD bomb squad also arrived Friday morning to support ongoing safety assessments and recovery efforts.
By Friday night, a solemn procession escorted the bodies of the three deputies to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s office, a quiet but powerful show of respect for lives lost in service. The sheriff’s department called the men “brave” and “unwavering in their commitment to protecting and serving.”
For the families of the fallen, and for the colleagues who trained and served alongside them, the loss is unthinkable. The incident is a stark reminder of the invisible dangers that law enforcement officers carry with them every day, long after the headlines fade.
