Police respond to the scene of an explosion in Arlington, Virginia on Monday night. Celal Gunes/Anadolu via Getty Images
A massive explosion leveled a home and rocked a neighborhood in Arlington, Va., on Monday night as police tried to investigate a man who shot a flare gun from his residence, officials said.
No serious injuries were reported, but the fate of the suspect, who was believed to be inside the house at the time of the explosion, is still unclear.
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.
Video of the explosion. Hope everyone was out of the house#Arlington #ballston @ARLnowDOTcom @RealTimeNews10 pic.twitter.com/JSZE7LkoTD
— c “” maj (@connormaj) December 5, 2023
Here's an overview of what we know.
What happened in the moments leading up to the explosion?
Arlington County police said in a statement that they were first called to the 800 block of N. Burlington Street around 4:45 p.m. ET after receiving a report of possible gunshots.
The neighborhood, known as Bluemont, is in a leafy suburb of Washington D.C., filled with brick duplexes, condos and single-family residences.
During a preliminary investigation, police found that the suspect had fired a flare gun 30 to 40 times from inside his residence, a duplex, into the surrounding neighborhood.
Officers obtained a search warrant for the house and said they attempted to make contact with the suspect through loudspeakers and over the phone, but he didn't initially respond.
As officers attempted to execute the warrant, they heard several rounds of what they believed to be a firearm coming from inside the home. The explosion came shortly after, around 8:25 p.m.
Police said the exact circumstances of the explosion are still under investigation. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives said federal fire agents are assisting the investigation.
Was anyone injured?
A home is seen exploding from a distance Monday night in Arlington, Va. AP
Three officers reported minor injuries, but none were transported to the hospital. It's unclear what happened to the suspect, who was inside the home when it was leveled.
Police have yet to release the suspect's name or identity. A public records search shows the house had been owned by a man by the name of James Yoo since 1992.
Police don't have evidence that others were in the duplex at the time of the explosion but haven't ruled that out as a possibility, a police spokesperson told the Associated Press.
As of Tuesday morning, there was still a heavy police presence at the scene, with a nearby fire station, soccer field, bike path and several streets cordoned off with caution tape.
What did neighbors see and hear?
Workers on the street Tuesday examine a home that exploded in Arlington, Va., on Monday night. Stefani Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images
Residents could hear and feel the explosion for miles around Arlington County, where the average population is over 9,000 people per square mile.
Kathleen Boyce, who lives just around the block, said she was watching the house through a gap in her neighbor's yard after hearing sirens all night.
"I heard this pounding, and I thought maybe it was the police in the street," she recalled on Tuesday. "Then there was an explosion, and I could see, it went up 30 or 40 feet in the air."
"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."
Alex Wilson, who lives across the street from the house, told NPR that the man who lived there appeared to be a bit of a recluse: He lived alone, seldom left the property and covered the windows in foil so no one could peer inside.
Wilson captured video of the inferno on his cell phone's camera, which has been replayed countless times on local news stations. He said that heard police announce they were going to try to ram the front door, so he went on his roof to start recording.
"That's when the whole thing went up in hella fashion," he said. "I've never seen an explosion like that. My buddy who served in Afghanistan never saw an explosion like that."
Allison Van Lare said she felt the explosion nearly three miles away, in her neighborhood of Shirlington.
"I heard something like air popping, and then the fence started rattling intensely, almost like a sonic boom," she said.
The explosion also attracted the attention of top Virginia officials.
Virginia Rep. Don Beyer, who represents the area, thanked first responders and said he was monitoring the "very, very scary" circumstances.
Monitoring the emergency response to a major explosion in the Bluemont neighborhood of Arlington tonight. This is very, very scary, and my profound thanks go out to first responders working to secure the area and keep everyone safe.
— Rep. Don Beyer (@RepDonBeyer) December 5, 2023
A fire that raged in the explosion's aftermath was deemed under control as of 10:30 p.m., but crews continued to extinguish smaller spot fires throughout the evening, according to the Arlington County Fire Department.
More than 160 power outages were initially reported in the area, but that number had decreased to 19 as of Tuesday morning.
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