Seventeen people, including police, were hurt when a large explosion rocked a Los Angeles neighborhood Wednesday evening as thousands of pounds of illegal fireworks were being seized. None of the reported injuries were life-threatening.
The blast occurred around 7:30 p.m. local time as the bomb squad was detonating some of the explosives in a vehicle with a containment vessel designed to withstand explosions. The blast destroyed the vehicle, overturned a nearby car, and shattered windows in homes and businesses.
Approximately 5,000 pounds of fireworks and explosives were found at a home in the Historic South-Central neighborhood Wednesday morning. A 27-year-old man has been arrested. He is accused of bringing the explosives in from out of state to resell for the July 4th weekend. In addition, he faces a charge of possession of a destructive device.
Officials said it was fortunate no one was killed and used the incident to highlight the danger of illegal fireworks, especially when people intent on selling them store the explosives in residential neighborhoods.
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