Many South Los Angeles residents were on edge after an illegal fireworks show that lasted nearly 45 minutes lit up their neighborhood. Tracey Leong reports March 27, 2023.
A blast of illegal fireworks lit up a South Los Angeles neighborhood, scaring neighbors and leaving them fearful that it could happen again.
Video posted to social media showed what appeared to be several young men lighting up boxes of fireworks spread across half a block in the middle of a street, launching the sea of pyrotechnics into the sky amid loud booms and heavy smoke.
The detonations happened around 9:30 p.m. Sunday on Gramercy Place near 60th Street and lasted nearly 45 minutes. Nery Rossell felt the powerful explosions from his home a short distance away.
“I thought it was like war zone or something because it was pretty big and noisy,” he said.
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Leon Wilson, another nearby resident, said someone came up to him and told him to leave one end of the street and go to the other because there were going to be a lot of impending explosions. Wilson said two vans blocked off each side of the street, seemingly to prevent other vehicles from passing by.
Around 200 people were gathered to see the fireworks, all of whom left as soon as the show was over, Wilson said.
The Los Angeles police and fire departments responded but were unable to find the people responsible.
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No injuries were reported, but there was plenty of debris left behind, and residents said they don’t want what happened to become a regular occurrence.
