(CNN) Eight Los Angeles County Sheriff's deputies are facing administrative action after they allegedly shared graphic photos of a helicopter crash that killed Kobe Bryant, his daughter and seven others, Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva told CNN Monday.

The department is investigating accusations that the deputies shared pictures of the crash scene with people outside of the crash investigation. All photos of the crash that were in the possession of those deputies have been deleted, Villanueva said.

The sheriff told CNN he was "shocked" to learn about the incident and said he felt a "a sense of betrayal."

The only two groups authorized to take pictures of the crime scene were the National Transportation Safety Board and the coroner's office, Villanueva said. "Anybody outside of that would be unauthorized, they would be illicit photos."

Vanessa Bryant, who lost both her husband NBA legend Kobe Bryant and their 13-year-old daughter Gianna in the January crash, was "absolutely devastated" when she learned that first responders may have shared photos of the scene, her attorney Gary C. Robb said in a statement Sunday.

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