Illegal fireworks cause explosion leaving 17 injured in LA

By: Sofia Hasty

LOS ANGELES – At least 17 people, including police officers, were hit by a massive explosion of illegal fireworks Wednesday evening.

That night, bomb squad officers had been in the area of 27^th Street and San Pedro seizing over 5,000 pounds of explosives planned to be illegally sold on the Fourth of July. Some of the fireworks were inserted into their bomb squad trailer as a “precautionary measure,” according to a tweet by LAPD.

While in the process of clearing and moving the bombs to a safe, offsite location, the officers came across an additional 40 soda can-sized explosive devices, as well as 200 smaller ones. The devices were then transported to a multi-ton containment vehicle equipped with an iron chamber inside designed to house safe detonations.

However, at approximately 7:37 p.m. when the detonation occurred, the containment vehicle had a “catastrophic failure,” according to LAPD chief Michael Moore. 75 firefighters were consequently rushed to the scene.

The top of the vehicle (weighing as much as one ton) was sent flying two blocks east and smashed part of a roof before finally landing in the home’s backyard. The explosion also flipped cars, shattered windows, and damaged nearby vehicles, buildings, and homes. LA Building and Safety is investigating to determine if any residents will be displaced.

To make matters worse, officers later discovered that despite going door-to-door prior to the preplanned detonation, some residents that did not answer the door were still in the neighborhood, and subsequently injured.

Moore maintains that his officers followed all safety procedures & protocols, and that “something happened in that containment vehicle that should not have happened, and we don’t know why, but we intend to find out why.”

The containment vehicle had no apparent flaws at the time and was designated to accompany up to 15 pounds of IEDs. Only 10 were present during the explosion. ATF teams were expected to arrive soon after and help investigate the situation further.

In the meantime, 27-year-old Arturo Cejas was arrested on charges of possessing a destructive device. It was in his residency that the 5,000 pounds of explosives were discovered. His bail is set at $500,000.

Cejas’ 10-year-old younger brother was also discovered to be living in the house and was taken into protective custody after his arrest. The Department of Children and Family Services is now investigating, and Cejas is now additionally being prosecuted for child endangerment charges.