### Explosion at Santa Maria Courthouse Injures Two; Suspect Detained

A man was detained on Wednesday morning after allegedly detonating an explosive device at the Superior Court of Santa Barbara in Santa Maria, Calif., resulting in injuries to two individuals. The incident occurred shortly before 9 a.m. and prompted an immediate response from law enforcement.

According to a spokeswoman for the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Office, the detained suspect threw a bag into a courtroom, which then exploded. The explosion caused "non-life-threatening injuries" to two people whose identities had not been disclosed as of Wednesday afternoon.

Local media outlet Noozhawk reported that the suspect threw the explosive bag in front of Department 9, the arraignment courtroom. Darrel Parker, the superior court executive officer, confirmed this sequence of events, stating, "Whatever was in the bag exploded."

The courthouse complex was evacuated following the incident, and a bomb team was dispatched to investigate further. Authorities believe the suspect acted alone, and the individual was still being interviewed by law enforcement on Wednesday afternoon.

In light of the incident, the Santa Maria campus of the court was closed for the day, with all scheduled events canceled. Other city departments, including City Hall, finance, city attorney's office, public library, and recreation and parks, also shut down operations for the day as a precaution.

Governor Gavin Newsom announced via X that his office, along with the state's Office of Emergency Management, was closely monitoring the situation. Meanwhile, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department stated it was on "heightened alert" and would provide extra patrols to the 37 courthouses under its jurisdiction, although no credible threats to those courthouses had been identified.