Virginia home explodes after suspect fires flare gun during search

Table Of Content

• Suspect killed in house explosion as police in Arlington, Virginia, try to execute search warrant, officials say
• Man kills wife, 3 kids in mass shooting: Police
• Former Virginia hospital medical director acquitted of sexually abusing ex-patients
• UPDATE: One person has died two weeks after explosion, fire at home in Franklin
• KHOU would like to send you push notifications about the latest news and weather.
• House explosion rocks neighborhood near Washington, D.C., as police try to serve search warrant
• ABC News

Francis said both fire officials and BGE are investigating reports from neighbors about a possible odor hours before the explosion. Fire officials on scene told the Bristol Herald Courier that propane is believed to be the cause of the explosion and that their investigation remains ongoing. The blast and fire occurred while firefighters were inside the building, James Williams, assistant chief of operations for Loudon County Fire and Rescue, said at a news conference. Arlington County Police Chief Andy Penn said police went to the home after James Yoo, 56, fired a “flare-type gun” into the neighborhood more than 30 times from within the house.

Suspect killed in house explosion as police in Arlington, Virginia, try to execute search warrant, officials say

The authorities said James Yoo, 56, was believed to have died when his home exploded as the police were preparing to search the residence on Monday night. “There’s a debris field well into the street and into the neighboring homes,” he said Friday night. Two people inside the house were escorted out before the explosion and suffered only minor injuries from the blast.

Man kills wife, 3 kids in mass shooting: Police

"Because his house is usually very neat and clean, always perfectly mowed, and not even a leaf on the ground in fall, and suddenly there was trash everywhere, clothes, things on his roof," Johnston said. "And it was just very unusual. And before we even got the chance to make a welfare check call, there were flares going up and the police were already there." In a LinkedIn post Friday, Yoo appeared to accuse his neighbors of being spies. In his social media writings, Yoo called himself an independent and posted ranting hashtags calling for defunding the FBI, the CIA and the National Security Agency. Neighbors several blocks away described feeling the concussion from the blast in their homes.

Former Virginia hospital medical director acquitted of sexually abusing ex-patients

The complaints did not lead to the FBI opening any investigations, according to Sundberg, who did not provide any further details on the alleged claims. "There is no ongoing threat to the community related to this incident and no outstanding suspects," Penn said during a press briefing on Tuesday.

The fire was under control around 10.30pm, but Arlington county fire department crews continued to battle small spot fires, police said early on Tuesday. Three officers reported minor injuries, but no one was taken to the hospital. A house in Virginia exploded Monday night shortly after officers were executing a search warrant at the residence for reports of a person discharging several rounds with a flare gun, officials said. Three officers reported minor injuries in the house explosion, but no one was taken to the hospital.

Carla Rodriguez of south Arlington said she could hear the explosion more than two miles away and came to the scene but police kept onlookers blocks away. The natural gas line to Yoo’s home was shut off before the explosion, Assistant Fire Chief Jason R. Jenkins told reporters. Three officers suffered minor injuries, but none required hospitalization. Arlington is located across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C. The explosion occurred in Bluemont, a neighborhood in north Arlington where many of the homes are duplexes.

House explodes in Arlington, Virginia, while police serving search warrant, officials say

The police said on social media that residents should avoid the area, part of a densely populated suburban neighborhood with parks, restaurants and schools. STERLING, Va. — When firefighters arrived at a home in a Washington, D.C., suburb to investigate a report about a gas smell Friday night, they discovered a 500-gallon underground propane tank with a leak on the side of the residence. The fire department had turned off the gas at the residence prior to the explosion, according to Jenkins, who said he could not speculate on any cause or origin of the explosion at this time. Police officers sustained minor injuries and were treated on scene and the fire has since been extinguished.

Baltimore Gas and Electric, hazardous materials and fire investigators were at the scene. Fire officials said investigators have talked to the homeowners, but no further details were released. Fire officials said investigators are working to determine who the man is in relation to the home. Officials say they have heard from several neighbors that there was a foul smell in the area Saturday.

House explosion rocks Virginia neighborhood as police try to serve search warrant - NBC News

House explosion rocks Virginia neighborhood as police try to serve search warrant.

Posted: Tue, 05 Dec 2023 08:00:00 GMT [source]

Another Instagram post from the same account, citing a different source, also blamed the blast on an alleged firefight. However, it said that the exchange had caused a flare gun to go off, which in turn ignited a gas pipeline. Yoo claimed two men, including a New York Times reporter he had seen on MSNBC, showed up at his residence in March 2017 impersonating FBI agents and asked him to stop sending materials to federal prosecutors in New York.

“There’s a debris field well into the street and into the neighboring homes,” he said. STERLING, Va. (AP) — One firefighter was killed and nine others were injured when an explosion in a Washington, D.C., suburb on Friday leveled a home where they were investigating a gas leak. Following attempts to communicate with Yoo that were largely unsuccessful, police obtained a search warrant and deployed “non-flammable, less-lethal chemical munitions” in an effort to cause irritation and force the suspect to surrender, according to Penn. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives said federal agents and federal fire investigators were at the scene and assisting in the investigation. The explosion occurred in Bluemont, a neighborhood in north Arlington where many of the homes are duplexes.

A massive explosion engulfed a home and rocked a neighborhood in Arlington, Virginia, as police were investigating a man who fired a flare gun dozens of times from inside Monday night, police said. As officers tried to enter the home, multiple gunshots were fired from within the house, Penn said. "Human remains have been located at the scene, and the office of the chief medical examiner will work to positively identify the individual and determine the cause and manner of death," Penn told reporters during an afternoon news conference on Tuesday. The person had fired the flare gun around 30 to 40 times "from inside his residence into the surrounding neighborhood," police said in a statement early Tuesday. James Yoo is presumed dead after the Arlington residence went up in a fireball as police officers tried to serve a search warrant, authorities said Tuesday.

"I've lived here more than 20 years," she said, adding that the explosion knocked down some of her wall hangings. "I walk past there all the time. It's a little frightening to think what's going on in these houses." Police respond to the scene of the explosion in Arlington on Monday night. Residents could hear and feel the explosion for miles around Arlington County, where the average population is over 9,000 people per square mile. The police chief stressed that the events are an isolated incident and said there is no ongoing threat to the community.

Wiringi said debris landed on nearby roofs and that electrical power went out along the block. Emergency management officials said 10 to 12 surrounding homes were damaged by the blast. The suspect was inside the house at the time of the explosion, Savage said. Police were not aware of anyone else inside the house, which was a duplex, but they could not rule out the possibility others had been inside, Savage said. The explosion also rocked the home of Henry McFarland, who has lived in Bluemont for more than 30 years. When it subsided, he walked outside and saw flames leaping from the house and a plume of smoke stretching into the sky, he said.

BRISTOL, Va. -- We're continuing to follow the latest developments on an early morning house explosion on Campground Road in Washington County, Virginia. Firefighters from Goodson Kinderhook search though the debri after a house explosion early Thursday morning on Campground Road in Washington County, Virginia. Debri was scattered over a wide area after a house exploded early Thursday morning on Campground Road in Washington County, Virginia. Firefighters from Goodson Kinderhook spays water onto hotspots after a house explosion early Thursday morning on Campground Road in Washington County, Virginia. MECHANICSVILLE, Va. — Fire officials in Virginia say an apparent explosion at a home has killed one person.

"By that time, it seemed to be generally known that a house had blown up," Maynes said. He learned from law enforcement at the scene that the house exploded after a shootout between police and a suspect. Police were trying to enter the home with a search warrant when the suspect fired multiple gunshots. Penn said it wasn’t clear where the shots were coming from or what the suspect was firing at. David Sundberg, assistant director in charge of the FBI's Washington Field Office, told reporters that Yoo had communicated with the FBI via phone calls, online tips and letters over a number of years. Video posted to social media showed the house disappearing under a ball of fire, lobbing debris into the night air and sending wreckage raining down onto the suburb of Washington, D.C. Neighbors said the blast could be heard and felt for miles.

The suspect, who was inside the Arlington duplex at the time of the explosion, is presumed dead, authorities said. Firefighters arrived at the home that was engulfed in flames and immediately attempted to rescue the woman trapped, but fire conditions pushed firefighters away. Video posted by the department on a social media account showed smoke billing from the debris, with roof gables and siding on the ground. Baltimore County fire officials said they were called to the scene in the Essex community east of Baltimore just after 11 p.m. Fire officials said some siding melted on two neighboring homes, but there was no other damage reported.