One of two grenades recovered from a Santa Monica townhome complex is confirmed to have caused the blast that killed three detectives on July 18, but the second grenade is missing despite extensive searches, Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna announced on Friday.
The day before the blast, a resident of a townhome complex on the 800 block of Bay Street in Santa Monica reported what seemed to be two hand grenades inside a storage unit in the building’s underground parking garage, Luna said. Arson and Explosives detectives took the two explosives — believed to be inert at the time — back to the Biscailuz Training Center in East Los Angeles to be disposed of.
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“One of the grenades is unaccounted for at this time,” Luna said at a Friday evening news conference. “We have looked at everything out there that we possibly could.”
That involved multiple searches, including using drones and bucket trucks to search trees, officials said.
Luna said public access near the vicinity of the facility has been limited.
Details of what led to the July 18 explosion were still limited on Friday afternoon, pending further investigation.
“We simply don’t have all the answers at this point,” Luna said.
The U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives has taken over the search and investigation, Luna said.
“We need to know what happened,” Luna said. “We owe it to the families and, for God’s sake, I never want this to happen again.”
As a result of the blast, Luna said, the department is implementing policy changes, including treating all future explosives as if they are live.
Luna said investigators do not believe the grenade was dropped en route from Santa Monica to the training center.
The three bomb squad detectives had more than 70 years of combined experience with the sheriff’s department.
Funeral services are pending.
Luna and Kenny Cooper, special agent in charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ Los Angeles office, urged anyone in the public who may spot what appears to be the device or anything resembling a grenade to avoid touching it and call 911.
