A 17-year-old boy has died after an illegal firework exploded while he was handling it in the backyard of a home in South Los Angeles, authorities said.
Police and paramedics responded to a house in the Vermont Knolls neighbourhood around 9 p.m. on Wednesday after witnesses reported hearing a blast and seeing smoke. The teenager, whose identity has not been released, suffered critical injuries and was rushed to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Investigators believe the explosion involved a malfunctioning homemade or high-powered firework. At the scene, officers found a box labelled 'Cash Game 357', a 357-shot aerial firework 'cake' or 'repeater' that is illegal under California law. It remains unclear whether this device caused the blast.
A bomb squad was called in to assist with the investigation and to secure remaining fireworks and debris. Early Thursday morning, the squad conducted a controlled detonation after discovering additional explosive materials on the property.
According to MySafeLA, around five people, often children, are killed by fireworks each year nationwide, with an average of 9,100 fireworks-related injuries requiring hospital treatment.
