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Multiple people injured during Pennsylvania bomb squad training exercise

Incident took place in field at a Montgomery County prison

Graeme Massie
Los Angeles
Thursday 15 September 2022 20:52 BST
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Multiple people injured after incident during bomb squad training exercise in Pennsylvania
Multiple people injured after incident during bomb squad training exercise in Pennsylvania (Fox29)

Multiple people have been injured during a Pennsylvania bomb squad training exercise at a prison facility.

Officials say that three law enforcement officers were hurt in an explosion during the exercise at a Montgomery County prison on Thursday morning.

The FBI says that a member of the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office, a Pennsylvania State Trooper, and an FBI agent were hurt in the blast.

The injured were transported to hospitals but their conditions have not been made public.

“Staff from the Montgomery County Bomb Squad were installing an explosive device for a later class when it prematurely exploded,” a prison spokesperson said in a statement.

At least two fire trucks responded to a field near SCI - Phoenix in Skippack Township, shortly after 10am.

The FBI and Pennsylvania State Police are both investigating the incident, with the FBI tweeting that a training device had unexpectedly detonated.

“This morning, FBI Philadelphia was holding explosives response training at SCI Phoenix for law enforcement partners when a live training device unexpectedly detonated, wounding bomb technicians from the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office, Pennsylvania State Police, and FBI Philadelphia,” the FBI tweeted.

Investigators have not given any more details on the nature of the explosion.

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