US: Blast Rocks FBI Training Facility

By Staff, Agencies

The FBI has launched an investigation after an explosion at a training facility in southern California left multiple members of the Orange County Sheriff’s Department SWAT team hospitalized on Wednesday.

The officers had been undergoing a training course with the sheriff’s bomb squad when the blast occurred. The explosion took place shortly before 1pm, and the cause was not immediately clear.

At least 16 officers required hospitalization, but the worst injury was a non-life-threatening leg wound that will require surgery. Two people sustained superficial wounds, while the rest suffered from dizziness.

The facility, located in a remote area of Irvine, south of Los Angeles, hosts firearms training and assessment for the FBI and local law enforcement. No FBI personnel were hurt in the incident, according to agency spokesperson Laura Eimiller.