An explosion killed two brothers at a Bell Gardens apartment complex in the Los Angeles area last week.
The explosion killed 13-year-old Carlos Hernandez and his brother, Christopher Benitez, 24. An 11-year-old boy was also hospitalized following the blast, but was discharged the following day.
Carlos was a seventh-grader at Suva Intermediate School. He was found dead by first responders following the explosion on Tuesday.
His older brother Benitez was found alive and taken to the hospital with burns to 90 percent of his body, but he died on Thursday.
The explosion occurred just after 6 p.m. on Tuesday inside a two-story apartment complex on Purdy Avenue.
Investigators suspect that homemade explosives or fireworks caused the explosion.
“What we do know and what we do suspect is an energetic powder that was used to create the massive explosion,” LASD Lt. Michael Modica told reporters during a news conference on Thursday.
“If you take them and you contain them in something, then that creates pressure, which then would create an explosion,” Modica said.
Gutierrez, a mother of five, launched a GoFundMe after losing most of her family’s possessions in the explosion. She hopes to raise at least $10,000.
“Right now, our greatest fears are finding a safe place to live and making sure our children’s basic and medical needs are met,” Gutierrez wrote on the site. “The emotional weight of this loss is overwhelming.”
Meanwhile, Alexis Benitez, the sister of Hernandez and Christopher Benitez, has started a GoFundMe for funeral expenses.
According to Alexis Benitez, Christopher Benitez was a National Guard soldier and a dedicated member of his Catholic church community. Hernandez had a great sense of humor “that made everyone smile, even during hard times.”
“Our family is heartbroken. We are raising funds to help pay for their funeral, their showing, and any other necessary expenses as we try to heal from this unimaginable loss,” she wrote on GoFundMe.
