‘only minor injuries’ (because it looks like a purposeful, but hasty, natural gas explosion to me) but what will happen when one day someone decided to use HE & Shrapnel?

Home explosion rocks Arlington neighborhood after suspect fires flare gun during police search

ARLINGTON, Va. – Community members in an Arlington neighborhood were told to shelter in place Monday night after police say a flare gun was fired inside a home, causing a massive explosion.

Arlington County police put out the alert just after 8:15 p.m., saying the incident occurred in the 800 block of N. Burlington Street in the Bluemont neighborhood.

Police say as officers were attempting to execute a search warrant at the residence, a suspect fired several rounds inside the home, which led to the explosion.

Neighbor Alex Wilson spoke exclusively with FOX 5, saying this came after an hours-long standoff with the suspect. He said he took notice of what was happening around 4 p.m. when police rolled up to his neighbor’s home. Wilson said as time went on, it was clear the situation was only getting worse.

“Three hours later, at least, we saw the SWAT truck arrive and when the SWAT trucks arrive you know, you’re like, ‘oh things are getting escalated at that point,'” Wilson said. “I thought it was a sonic boom”

Wilson told FOX 5 he watched the entire event unfold from the roof of his townhome. He said police and SWAT continued to urge the suspect to come out of the home 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 being fired,” Wilson said.

He said after some time, the SWAT team appeared to try to change tactics, backing up and shifting the placement of the truck to get inside another way.

“At that point, they reversed back and they changed the angle of the truck and they were going to try to take out the window, the front window there. They tell him to back up from the window. And, at that point, they were driving forward to the window and that’s when the whole place went up.”

The explosion rocked the normally quiet neighborhood and it could be seen from miles away. The smoke billowed out in plumes and power was knocked out for 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 of my window and I saw burning stuff in the sky, in a sense. It looked like ash, but of course it was much farther away so it was probably debris.”

Neighbors were immediately told to shelter in place and drivers were told to avoid the area as a large response came from Arlington Fire and EMS and police.

“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 neighborhood right down the street.”

The flames took hours to put out. Arlington Fire and EMS said the fire was controlled around 10:30 p.m. and crews were only battling small spot fires by that time.

Officials say only minor injuries were reported but it’s not yet clear how many people may have been involved. The explosion knocked the power out for several homes in the neighborhood.

The area is near Key Elementary School. FOX 5 checked in with administrators who said there are no changes for school operations Tuesday.

Right now, police have not provided any information about the suspect but an online search of public records shows a man named James Yoo linked to the residence.

Wilson also told FOX 5 that the neighbor is James Yoo, referencing a LinkedIn profile, but admitted that he’s “never seen” the neighbor who appeared to have been living as a recluse.

“This guy has been cooped up for years. He’s closed off his windows, no one has really seen him for years,” Wilson said.

Wilson says he does know the neighbors who live in the other side of the duplex, however. They also lost their home in the explosion.

“I feel terrible for them. Their house is like, gone.” The entire structure is gone,” Wilson said.

An Arlington police officer told FOX 5 that he expected his team would remain at the scene late into the night. The investigation into the explosion is ongoing and the ATF says fire investigators are on scene to assist.