Sixteen Orange County Sheriff’s Department Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) team members were injured Wednesday in an explosion at a Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) facility in Southern California.
Orange County Sheriff’s Department Sgt. Frank Gonzalez told Fox News that the SWAT team was holding its annual exercise Wednesday at the FBI’s Jerry Crowe Regional Tactical Training Facility in partnership with the Sheriff’s Hazardous Devices Section. The facility is located in Irvine, California.
“During the training, an explosion occurred indoors causing injuries to sixteen members of the SWAT team,” the Orange County Sheriff’s Department wrote in a statement on Facebook. “Fifteen members were transported to local hospitals by ambulance, and one was able to transport himself to the hospital.”
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According to the Orange County Sheriff’s Department, one of the injured SWAT team members sustained a non-life-threatening leg injury, which required surgery. One SWAT team member suffered a “superficial injury” to his leg, and another team member suffered a “superficial injury” to his back. Thirteen other SWAT team members received medical care at the hospital for dizziness and ringing in their ears from the explosion.
Gonzalez explained that many of the 13 SWAT team members who were transported to the hospital with ringing in their ears and dizziness were treated and released on Wednesday.
Although Gonzalez told Fox News that the FBI was not involved in Wednesday’s incident, the Orange County Sheriff’s Department is conducting an investigation in coordination with the FBI. While an investigation has been launched into the incident, the cause of the explosion has not yet been revealed.
In a statement obtained by The New York Post, the FBI confirmed Wednesday’s explosion at its training facility and announced that the incident remains under investigation. “A training incident that occurred today at the FBI’s training facility in Irvine with law enforcement partners resulted in some injuries and is under investigation,” the FBI stated.
A picture of the aftermath of Wednesday’s incident was posted on X, formerly Twitter, by The New York Post.
