Blast tears through apartment building, prompts police search

Cadonna M. Peyton

Sunday, May 21, 2000 | 2:42 a.m.

LOS ANGELES - An explosion possibly caused by a large firework tore through an apartment building Sunday morning, injuring at least one resident and sending police on a search for explosives in one of the apartments.

A man believed responsible for the blast suffered injuries to his hands and face, but was not hospitalized. It was unclear if anyone else was injured, authorities said. Several hundred people were evacuated from the building and the rest of the block.

Firefighters responded to a report of a fire and found that an explosion had blown a hole in the fourth floor of the building, which is near the Koreatown section of Los Angeles, police Officer Trevion Stokes said.

Police detained but had not arrested the injured man who apparently had been trying to manipulate a device described as possibly a large firework, such as an M-80 or big "cherry bomb," Stokes said. The exact nature of the explosive and the man's intentions were unclear, Stokes said.

Authorities evacuated residents, some of whom were awakened by the sounds of the blast and breaking glass, and began searching for more explosives in one of the apartments. Investigators continued to search several hours later, but said they were confident there were other explosives inside.

"A neighbor told them there were possible additional explosives in the area," Stokes said.

One resident, 15-year-old Luz Gutierrez, said she saw the suspect walking, bloody and shirtless, through the hallway after the blast. Gutierrez described him as nice man who had served in the Vietnam War and kept a bullet collection.