Virginia police ID man who exploded home just miles from Pentagon
A Virginia duplex just miles away from the Pentagon exploded into a fiery blaze Monday night, rocking a community plagued just hours earlier by a suspect shooting a flare gun into the neighborhood from inside the same residence.
The suspect, identified as James Yoo, is now believed to be dead, according to Arlington County Police Chief Andy Penn, who spoke during a Tuesday news conference.
Penn added that investigators discovered a chemical agent that had been deployed in the dwelling before the blast. Assistant Fire Chief Jason Jenkins said it’s still too early to know if the explosion was caused by something interacting with the agent, according to WTOP reporter Neal Augenstein.
Authorities received a series of calls about shots fired in Arlington about 4:45 p.m., Arlington County police spokeswoman Ashley Savage told reporters. Officers were able to quickly determine the suspect was using a flare gun, firing off between 30 and 40 shots from a home on N. Burlington Street.
“During the course of the investigation, officers obtained a search warrant for the suspect’s residence and attempted to make contact with the suspect over the telephone and through loudspeakers,” the police said in a statement early Tuesday. “The suspect did not respond and remained barricaded inside the residence.”
As responding officers attempted to serve the warrant, Yoo allegedly unleashed another several rounds, this time from a suspected firearm, police said. The explosion occurred shortly thereafter, about 8:30 p.m. Video taken on the scene shows the multistory residence surrounded by first responders and police vehicles just before a massive fireball exploded through the roof, raining embers, ash and debris onto the sidewalk below.
The force of the blast was enough to blow out the walls of the residence, ultimately causing its collapse. Several nearby homes were also evacuated as a result, Capt. Nate Hiner of the Arlington Fire Department said, though he did not provide an approximate number.
The gas in Yoo’s home had been shut off by the Arlington Fire Department prior to the blast, Penn added Tuesday.
The police chief reported that all indications are that Yoo was the person who died in the explosion, and that the people who lived in the other part of the duplex had been evacuated before the blast as a precaution.
Firefighters were able to gain control of the blaze about 10:30 p.m., but Arlington County Fire Department crews continued to battle small spot fires, police said early Tuesday.
“As soon as the fire is brought under control and there is [no] threat or risk of that fire spreading to those structures, neighbors will be brought back in as the situation determines,” Hiner said.
While several police officers reported minor injuries, no one was hospitalized in wake of the blast.
Savage told reporters that Yoo was believed to be the only person in the home at the time of the incident.
With News Wire Services
