A 17‑year‑old was killed when a high‑powered, unlawful firework detonated in a backyard, sending a shockwave that made nearby residents think it was a bomb.
The blast happened at about 9:30 p.m. on Wednesday night in a home on the 400 block of West 84th Street in South Los Angeles’s Vermont Knolls area, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.
First responders discovered the teenager in critical condition and he later died at a nearby hospital. In the aftermath, investigators found a box marked “Cash Game 357”, a 357‑shot aerial “cake” firework notorious for firing a rapid series of explosions. That type of device is prohibited in California, where even smaller “safe and sane” fireworks are tightly regulated, but officials have not yet confirmed whether the box actually fired or what specific explosive caused the fatality.
The LAPD Bomb Squad, Hazardous Materials Unit, and detectives from the Major Crimes Division rushed to the scene to assess the aftermath. They reported that there were no further safety risks, confiscated a large stash of illegal pyrotechnic devices, and secured any remaining explosives at a safe storage site.
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