ARLINGTON, Va. – Community members in an Arlington neighbourhood were told to shelter in place Monday night after police said a flare gun was fired inside a home, causing a massive explosion.
Arlington County police issued the alert shortly after 8:15 p.m., saying the incident occurred in the 800 block of N. Burlington Street in the Bluemont neighbourhood.
Police say officers were attempting to execute a search warrant at the residence when a suspect fired several rounds inside the home, leading to the explosion.
Neighbour Alex Wilson spoke exclusively to FOX 5 and said this came after an hours-long standoff with the suspect. He said he became aware of what was happening around 4 p.m. when police arrived at his neighbour’s home. Wilson said that as time went on, it became clear that the situation was only getting worse.
“At least three hours later, we saw the SWAT truck arrive, and when the SWAT trucks arrive, you know, you’re like, ‘Oh, things are escalating at this point,'” Wilson said.
Wilson told FOX 5 he watched the entire event from the roof of his townhouse. He said police and SWAT continued to urge the suspect to come out of the house, but when that failed, they went inside.
“The guy inside wasn’t responding and they drove a SWAT truck through the front door and then shots were fired,” Wilson said.
He said that after some time, the SWAT team appeared to try to change tactics, backing up and shifting the placement of the truck to get in another way.
“At that point, they backed up and they changed the angle of the truck and they were going to try to take out the window, the front window there. They told him to back away from the window. And at that point they were driving forward to the window and that’s when the whole place blew up.
The explosion shook the normally quiet neighbourhood and could be seen for miles around. Smoke billowed out in plumes and power was cut to several homes.
“It was a very, very, very loud ‘boom,'” Arlington resident Blake Thompson told FOX 5. “I thought it was a sonic boom at first, but I looked out my window and I saw burning stuff in the sky, sort of. It looked like ash, but of course it was a lot farther away, so it was probably debris.
Neighbours were immediately told to shelter in place and motorists were told to avoid the area as a large response from Arlington Fire and EMS and police arrived.
“At that point there’s no thought. There’s no thought, there’s just pure reaction and shock,” Wilson said. “It was wild. It was wild to say the least. I mean, for this to happen in your neighbourhood, right down the street.
The flames took hours to extinguish. Arlington Fire and EMS said the fire was under control around 10:30 p.m., with crews fighting only small spot fires.
Officials say only minor injuries have been reported, but it’s not yet clear how many people may have been involved. The explosion knocked out power to several homes in the neighbourhood.
The area is close to Key Elementary School. FOX 5 checked with administrators who said there would be no changes to Tuesday’s school day.
For now, police have not released any information about the suspect, but an online search of public records shows a man named James Yoo is associated with the residence.
Wilson also told FOX 5 that the neighbour is James Yoo, referring to a LinkedIn profile, but admitted he’d “never seen” the neighbour, who appeared to be living as a recluse.
“This guy has been locked up for years. He’s got his windows closed, nobody’s really seen him for years,” Wilson said.
But Wilson says he knows the neighbours who live on the other side of the duplex. They also lost their home in the explosion.
“I feel terrible for them. Their house is, like, gone.” The whole structure is gone,” Wilson said.
An Arlington police officer told FOX 5 he expected his team to be at the scene late into the night. The investigation into the explosion is ongoing, and the ATF says fire investigators are on the scene to assist.
