Fireworks Explosion Injures 9 In Garden Grove, 1 Arrested: Cops

GARDEN GROVE, CA — An arrest has been made in the fireworks explosion that injured nine people Sunday, Garden Grove police say.

A 46-year-old Santa Ana resident, Frank Lozcano Lopez, is suspected of causing the illegal fireworks explosion that injured nine people in Garden Grove.

Along with an unknown amount of other suspects, Lopez allegedly lit a box of fireworks in the 13800 block of Rosita Place at about 9:30 p.m. Sunday, says Garden Grove Police Department Sgt. Luis Payan.

Mortars shot from the box toward people in the area who were watching the fireworks, and the resulting explosions caused five children and four adults to be injured. Multiple vehicles and apartment complex windows to be damaged, Payan said.

An 8-year-old boy suffered a severe injury to his eye and burns to his body. Four other people were also treated at hospitals for unspecified wounds.

Responding officers and Orange County Bomb Squad units secured the scene and learned witnesses recorded the incident on cellphones, Payan said.

GGPD detectives conducted a follow-up on the information and identified Lopez as one of the suspects allegedly recorded lighting the fireworks.

According to police, Lopez was arrested and booked into the Orange County Jail for igniting a destructive device causing injury.

An investigation into the explosion is ongoing and anyone with information was asked to contact GGPD Detective Steve Heine at 714-741-5422.