LA County Sheriff’s Department identifies three deputies killed in explosion
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department has identified the three deputies who died in an explosion at a training facility in California on Friday, July 18. That explosion is the largest loss of life the department’s seen since 1857, Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said.
“With profound sadness and heavy hearts, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department announces the passing of three of our dedicated deputies: Detective Joshua Kelley-Eklund, Detective Victor Lemus, and Detective William Osborn, who were all assigned to Special Enforcement Bureau’s Arson Explosives Detail,” the department said on Facebook.
Explosion at Biscailuz Training Facility
The explosion happened around 7:30 a.m. local time at the Biscailuz Training Facility in eastern LA. Members of the Los Angeles Police Department’s bomb squad were sent to the scene to stabilize the area.
Luna said at a press conference Friday that this was an “isolated incident.”
“There’s a lot more that we don’t know than that we do know,” Luna said. “But our intent is to look at this from the very beginning and figure out what is it exactly that caused this tragic event.”
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said on Friday that the fire department and federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are assisting with the investigation. FBI agents were also sent to support the investigation, according to U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, and California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office said on X that he was briefed on the incident.
“Please pray for the entire Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department,” Bondi said.
Lives lost
The LASD said the three men who died were all assigned to the Special Enforcement Bureau’s Arson Explosives Detail.
“These brave men served with honor, courage, and unwavering commitment to protecting and serving our community,” the department said. “Their tragic loss is deeply felt across our Department and the entire Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.”
Kelley-Eklund joined the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department in March 2006, and became an arson and explosives investigator in 2022. Before that, he was a detective at the Narcotics Bureau and worked with the LA Impact Team. Previously a training officer at South Los Angeles Station, Kelley-Eklund mentored several new deputies.
“He was known as an outstanding field training officer who was professional and articulate,” the LASD said. Kelley-Eklund is survived by his wife and seven children.
Lemus first joined the LASD in 2003, and eventually transferred to the Special Enforcement Bureau in 2017. He became an arson and explosives investigator in 2024.
“He received commendations for his ability to mentor and train fellow deputies as well as notable arrests involving career criminals,” the LASD said. Lemus’ wife is a sheriff’s department detective, and he has three sisters who also work at the LASD, as well as a brother-in-law assigned to Carson Station. In addition, Lemus is survived by four brothers and three daughters.
During his career, Lemus “received commendations for his ability to mentor and train fellow deputies as well as notable arrests involving career criminals,” the LASD wrote.
Osborn graduated from Deputy Sheriff Academy Class 278 in February 1992, and worked at the Pico Rivera Station and then the Industry Station, where he was made a detective. The LASD said Osborn would go on to work as a detective for over ten years, and handled hundreds of cases per year. After going to the Training Bureau as an Emergency Vehicle Operations Center Instructor in 2016, Osborn joined the Special Enforcement Bureau as an arson and explosives investigator in 2019.
“As an Arson investigator, he handled cases involving high dollar loss fires in residential properties, as well as fires involving the loss of life. He was a peer leader and took on the role of mentoring newly assigned investigators,” the LASD said. “He was described as ‘one of tenured bomb technicians regularly relied upon when faced with a new challenge. He has [a] broad range of experience and could be relied upon to provide relevant insight on broad range of subjects.'”
Osborn had a wife who was a detective, four sons and two daughters.
Members of the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department had a procession to honor the deputies on Friday, and details about their memorial services will be released in coming days.
Ella Rae Greene, Editor In Chief
