Los Angeles sheriff’s deputy dies months after being injured in fire inside mobile gun range

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A veteran Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy has died six months after he was seriously hurt when a fire broke out inside a trailer serving as a mobile shooting range, his family said Sunday.

Alfredo “Freddy” Flores died from his injuries Saturday night, Joe A. Nunez, an attorney for the family, confirmed to KABC-TV.

Flores and another longtime deputy were critically injured on Oct. 10 when equipment malfunctioned inside the approximately 50-foot (15-meter) trailer at a training facility northwest of downtown Los Angeles.

Crews fought the flames for several hours and were challenged by live ammunition that was still inside the trailer.

The trailer had two “firing lanes” inside and one of the deputies was participating in firearms qualification, which the department requires deputies to do once a quarter, Sheriff Robert Luna said in October. The department hasn’t released the results of its investigation into the accident at a sprawling campus that also houses the Pitchess Detention Center, a county jail.

Flores was a deputy for 22 years and his assignments included the North County Correctional Facility and Altadena Station. The name of the other injured deputy hasn’t been released. Luna has said the deputy worked for the department for 17 years.

“Freddy was an amazing and loving husband, father, son, and brother,” his family said in a statement. “He loved working for the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department and dedicated his life to serving and protecting our community.”

“Deputy Flores was not just a colleague but a beacon of strength, earning the respect of both his peers and the community he served,” Luna said in a statement Sunday.