麻豆传媒

Skip to main content

Suspect is detained after an explosion at a California courthouse injures 5 people

In this still image from video provided by KEYT, people walk past a police barricade following an explosion at the Santa Maria Courthouse in Santa Maria, Calif., Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2024. (KEYT via AP) In this still image from video provided by KEYT, people walk past a police barricade following an explosion at the Santa Maria Courthouse in Santa Maria, Calif., Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2024. (KEYT via AP)
Share
SANTA MARIA, Calif. -

A man set off an explosive device in the lobby of a California courthouse on Wednesday, injuring five people and prompting the shutdown of the court complex and other city buildings, officials said.

A suspect was detained following the explosion that was reported shortly after 8:45 a.m. at the Santa Maria Courthouse in Santa Maria, sheriff鈥檚 officials said. The small city of about 110,000 people is in Santa Barbara County, in California's central coast region.

鈥淪cene remains active. Please continue to avoid the area,鈥 county sheriff's spokesperson Raquel Zick posted on the social platform X.

Zick later said the person detained was a man and that the blast came from 鈥渁n intentionally set鈥 explosive device. She said investigators don't believe there are any other suspects.

鈥淭he bomb team is processing the scene and the suspect is still being interviewed,鈥 Zick later said on X.

The sheriff's department initially said two people sustained non-life-threatening injuries, but Sandy Doucette, a spokesperson for Marian Regional Medical Center, said the hospital was treating five patients in connection with the explosion. Two were in good condition and three in fair condition on Wednesday morning, Doucette said, without providing details of their injuries.

Darrel Parker, court executive officer in Santa Barbara County, said the explosion occurred in the first-floor lobby of the criminal court building, which serves as the entryway and weapons screening point for the broader court campus. Anyone who wants to go to criminal, civil or other courts must pass through there to do so, Parker said.

鈥淚 am not certain that the suspect made it past weapons screening,鈥 Parker said.

Shane Mellon told KSBY-TV that he was at the courthouse when he heard what sounded like chairs falling over.

鈥淚t was a loud bang,鈥 he said, adding the bailiff escorted him and others out.

Mellon said he saw what looked like a sweater smoldering and a man screaming while four or five people got on top of him, trying to keep him restrained.

鈥淚 think this could have been way worse than it was if not for the deputies just jumping on top of that guy,鈥 Mellon said.

The office of California Gov. Gavin Newsom said it was monitoring the situation and coordinating with local law enforcement.

The courts were closed on Wednesday and filing extensions will be offered for those affected by the shutdown. Parker said he expects the court to resume operations on Thursday.

Patrols were stepped up at courthouses in neighboring Los Angeles County, the sheriff's department there said.

Santa Maria City Hall, which is near the courthouse, was also closed Wednesday due to the ongoing investigation, said Mark van de Kamp, a spokesperson for the city. So were other nearby city offices in addition to branch libraries that depend on the city鈥檚 main library for support, he said.

The courthouse holds state and county courts in the city of Santa Maria, which is about 150 miles (240 kilometers) northwest of Los Angeles. Two decades ago, the courthouse was where Michael Jackson was tried and acquitted of sexual abuse. 

CTVNews.ca Top Stories

For decades, Melven Jones couldn鈥檛 talk about what happened to him as a child. He didn鈥檛 even remember it.

The CEO of the Ottawa Mission is responding to controversial comments made this week by Premier Doug Ford about those living in homeless encampments that received swift blowback from advocates.

A strike by grain terminal workers at the Port of Metro Vancouver has ended, their employer announced Friday night.

Local Spotlight

A tale about a taxicab hauling gold and sinking through the ice on Larder Lake, Ont., in December 1937 has captivated a man from that town for decades.

When a group of B.C. filmmakers set out on a small fishing boat near Powell River last week, they hoped to capture some video for a documentary on humpback whales. What happened next blew their minds.

A pizza chain in Edmonton claims to have the world's largest deliverable pizza.

Sarah McLachlan is returning to her hometown of Halifax in November.

Wayne MacKay is still playing basketball twice at Mount Allison University at 87 years old.

A man from a small rural Alberta town is making music that makes people laugh.

An Indigenous artist has a buyer-beware warning ahead of Sept. 30, the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.

Police are looking to the public for help after thieves broke into a Lethbridge ice creamery, stealing from the store.

An ordinary day on the job delivering mail in East Elmwood quickly turned dramatic for Canada Post letter carrier Jared Plourde. A woman on his route was calling out in distress.