The Device That Exploded and Killed Three Sheriff's Deputies on July 18th, Was Recovered in Santa Monica

There is a connection between the police search on Bay Street in Santa Monica and the explosion that killed three Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department (LASD) deputies on July 18, 2025. The explosion occurred at the LASD Biscailuz Regional Training Center in East Los Angeles, where deputies were handling an unexploded ordnance. According to multiple sources, this ordnance was recovered in Santa Monica on July 17, 2025, from a garage in a residential neighborhood, potentially on or near the 800 block of Bay Street, as part of a routine bomb squad callout. The device, initially believed to be inert, was transported to the training facility for examination or neutralization. It detonated unexpectedly during handling around 7:30 a.m. on July 18, killing three veteran deputies from the Arson/Explosives Detail.

Following the explosion, LASD homicide detectives, along with the FBI, ATF, and the Los Angeles Police Department's bomb squad, returned to the Santa Monica location to serve a search warrant, likely on the 800 block of Bay Street, to investigate whether additional explosive materials were present and to trace the origin of the ordnance. This search was directly tied to the explosion, as investigators sought to understand the circumstances surrounding the device's recovery and its unintended detonation. The search in Santa Monica was reported as a precautionary measure to ensure no further threats remained, with no additional explosives found by the end of the day, per available reports.[](https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2025-07-18/explosion-la-sheriff-training-facility)[](https://www.cbsnews.com/losangeles/news/explosion-los-angeles-county-sheriffs-department-training-facility/)[](https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/18/us/los-angeles-sheriff-center-explosion-deaths.html)

The exact nature of the device-whether military ordnance or an improvised explosive-remains under investigation, and authorities have not confirmed specific details about the Bay Street location or the device's origin. The incident has been described as an accident, with no ongoing public threat.[](https://www.cnn.com/2025/07/18/us/lasd-facility-explosion-east-los-angeles)[](https://ktla.com/news/local-news/explosion-reported-at-east-l-a-sheriffs-training-center/)