On Tuesday, an alarming incident occurred at a mobile shooting range north of Los Angeles when two seasoned Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies suffered severe injuries due to a sudden fire. These law enforcement officers were critically injured amidst the blaze engulfing the approximately 50-foot trailer.
Sheriff Robert Luna was prompted to shut down all other portable ranges across the county as inquiries commenced into the cause of the fire. “We must delve into how and why this happened, and ensure all necessary measures are in place to avert similar events in future,” Luna expressed in a press briefing at the Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital.
Initially, the injured deputies received medical attention at the same hospital, and later they were moved to LA General Medical Center for continuous care. Luna refrained from revealing the names of the deputies, but disclosed their outstanding service records – one deputy serving for 21 years and the other for 17 years.
The firefighting efforts spanned over four hours, having commenced around 9:30 am and not completely extinguished until late afternoon, as noted in a statement from the sheriff’s department. The crews encountered significant risks due to live ammunition still present inside the trailer.
The shooting range, which is part of a vast campus in Castaic — approximately 35 miles northwest of downtown Los Angeles, includes the Pitchess Detention Center. As a safety measure, this county jail had been briefly put under lockdown. The sheriff reassured the public that no inmates were under any threat from the fire.
Inside the burning trailer were two firing lanes, and at the time of the incident, one of the deputies was undergoing firearm qualification, a drill mandated for the deputies on a quarterly basis by the department.
Initially, the fire department received reports indicating injuries to four deputies. However, Luna later clarified that only two deputies had been injured in the unfortunate incident.
