Orange County DA investigating cause of chemical crisis in Garden Grove

Añadido: 2026-05-24

[00:00:00]As people, including evacuees, are probably wondering what even led up to this emergency. Well, so is the Orange County District Attorney's Office. Todd Spitzer has set up an anonymous tip hotline. NBC4's Jonathan Gonzalez live for us right now in Los Alamos. And Jonathan, you talked with the DA about this.

[00:00:19]>> Yeah, and that's one of several things, Colleen and Kathy, that this that the DA is now working on. We spoke with him about 25 minutes ago, and it was interesting. You know, typically a district attorney in this case, there's an incident that happens, law enforcement investigates and decides whether or not they want to bring charges, and then the district attorney's office and any county in California would decide whether or not to prosecute those charges. In this particular case, the DA himself, Todd Spitzer, says that he is getting ahead of all of that. that he has launched his own investigation and that tomorrow he plans on sending a preservation letter to GKN Aerospace telling them not to destroy any documents with regards to this incident that is happening right now. In addition to that, as you guys mentioned, yes, he did launch a tip line for any GKN employees who may have any pertinent information to this hazmat situation so that they can come forward and assist with Spitzer's investigation.

[00:01:12]Let's listen more now from the district attorney himself.

[00:01:16]Let me be unequivocally clear. It is completely unreasonable to believe that a company of this magnitude with this much responsibility handling these kinds of volatile chemicals manufacturing parts that are used in in the highest regard either in defense or commercial aviation, right? With windows and other kinds of things that are used in aircraft and right in the middle of a commercial and residential area. an urban setting like Orange County could have a cooling system that's responsible for keeping volatile cocktails like this MMA at a 50° temperature so it's not dangerous so it can be used in manufacturing to allow that system to fail begs a fullfledged investigation.

[00:02:08]Now again, the reason that he says he's getting ahead of this before a law enforcement investigation really begins is because he says we have almost 50,000 people who live in the Garden Grove area who are now displaced from their homes for an unknown amount of time and he anticipates there will be litigation sometime in the future. So that is why he says tomorrow he again is sending a preservation letter to GKN to preserve any documents with regards to this uh incident that is continuing to go on. I did ask him about anonymity. Do the employees of GKN, can they report any kind of information to the district attorney's office and remain anonymous?

[00:02:45]Obviously, these are people who may not want to lose their jobs. Well, Spitzer said that anyone who is willing to come forward should consult with an attorney, but that he will do anything that he can legally to protect any whistleblower who comes forward as this investigation really is just getting started. Lastly, I did ask who the lead uh investigator with regards to law enforcement is on this case. So far, he did not say. I did ask him if it was local, if it was going to be a state agency or even a federal agency here. That remains to be seen. He did not have that information for us.

[00:03:19]But again, the DA adamant that because there are 50,000 people out of their homes for an unknown amount of time.

[00:03:25]We're talking about hotel costs. We're talking about food costs. We're talking about the cost of shelters having to open up again for a potential lengthy period here. He says that's expensive, that costs money, and he anticipates that GKN Aerospace will likely be held legally accountable for all that is going on right now in the near future.

[00:03:45]Of course, we're going to continue to follow this and we'll bring you more information coming up next hour. For now, Colleen and Kathy, we'll send it back to you. Jonathan, I suspect the DA, Todd Spitzer's already looked into the record of this uh aerospace company. Did he share anything about that with you?

[00:04:02]He did. I did ask him specifically if there were any legal troubles. He antic he alluded to potential settlements in the past, but that's actually something he says he's not overly familiar with.

[00:04:12]He did say that he is looking into it as many of us are. he told me uh right now looking into the background and the history of this company that's been here uh just over two decades or so in the Orange County area. So we will continue to to press him on that to see if there is any kind of um you know legal pass with regards to GKN aerospace in the past. Colleen, >> so incredible. We're getting involved in the legal process right now. We don't even know the outcome at this point.

[00:04:39]Jonathan, great reporting. Thank you.