The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s department warned the public Friday about a possibly live grenade that has gone missing after an explosion last week near Monterey Park that killed three LASD detectives.
Sheriff Robert Luna and Kenny Cooper, special agent in charge of the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ LA office, said anyone who finds what may be the grenade should not make contact with it and call 911.
Cooper said the investigation into the deadly explosion on July 18 determined one grenade detonated, and the second explosive was nowhere to be found.
“We conducted a thorough search to locate this second device, but we haven’t found it yet,” Luna said, referring to multiple searches of the Biscailuz Regional Training Center where the blast occurred. Since the explosion the public has not had access to the facility.
The whereabouts of the second grenade are unknown. Luna said the sheriff’s department has started an internal investigation into the incident, while the ATF leads the investigation into the cause of the explosion.
The investigation to determine what caused the grenade to detonate remained ongoing Saturday. The explosion occurred at approximately 7:25 a.m. July 18, killing sheriff’s Detectives Joshua Kelley-Eklund, Victor Lemus and William Osborn.
The blast occurred after sheriff’s Arson Explosives Detail investigators aided Santa Monica police July 17 to retrieve two grenades that were found in a storage unit at an apartment building near Bay Street and Lincoln Boulevard, Luna said. The devices were examined, X-rayed and believed to be inert before sheriff’s officials took the grenades to the Biscailuz facility in the 1000 block of North Eastern Avenue “to be destroyed and rendered safe.”
Investigators last week returned to the Santa Monica apartment building for a more thorough search, according to published reports. Authorities have also searched a boat and a storage facility in Marina Del Rey.
Details about that investigation have not been released. The Sheriff’s Information Bureau did not respond to a request for comment Monday.
Earlier Friday, the bodies of the three deputies who died in the blast were moved from a county morgue in an austere procession of law enforcement officers and vehicles to a funeral facility in Covina.
The three bomb squad investigators each had decades of experience with the sheriff’s department. Their funeral services were pending.
Authorities urged anyone with information about either of the two explosives to call 888-ATF-TIPS or the sheriff’s Homicide Bureau, 323-890-5500. To leave anonymous tips, call Crime Stoppers at 800-222-TIPS.
Updated July 28, 2025, 1:02 p.m.
