UPDATED: Police Issue Statement on Home Explosion Official Website of Arlington County Virginia Government

Table Of Content

• Police Encourages Public Participation in National Drug Take-Back Day
• ARLnow Daily Debrief for Apr 26, 2024
• TIMELINE: What happened in the moments leading up to Arlington, Va. house explosion
• Arlington Fire Department investigates small series of explosions
• Find out what’s happening in yourcommunity on the Patch app
• Arlington, Virginia house explosion: What happened and who is the suspect?
• Man who lived at Virginia home that exploded is presumed dead, police say

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. Based on the preliminary investigation of the incident, we believe the resident of the home, James Yoo, 56, of Arlington, VA is the involved suspect. The suspect was inside the residence at the time of the explosion. Human remains have been located at the scene which are presumed to be the suspect.

Police Encourages Public Participation in National Drug Take-Back Day

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. The circumstances of the explosion were under investigation, Savage said. Before Monday's blast, the home stood out because of the aluminum foil covering windows and because its resident made no efforts to meet neighbors, Mitchell said. On a YouTube channel, Yoo posted several videos that show screenshot after screenshot of legal documents related to his unsuccessful lawsuits and protracted divorce. In LinkedIn posts, Yoo accused the U.S. government of corruption and uploaded photos of a couple he said were his next-door neighbors in Arlington.

ARLnow Daily Debrief for Apr 26, 2024

Crews clearing Arlington explosion site one week after blast - DC News Now Washington, DC

Crews clearing Arlington explosion site one week after blast.

Posted: Mon, 11 Dec 2023 08:00:00 GMT [source]

The fire department said there shouldn't be any reason for alarm for nearby residents with gas appliances. Security video from a nearby resident showed the moment the explosion occurred. The fire department said it appeared the apparent explosion happened due to a gas appliance "that was not fully turned off." The Arlington Fire Department said crews responded to reports of an explosion and fire in the Viridian neighborhood in northern Arlington. ESSEX, Md. — An explosion razed a home in suburban Baltimore, officials said, sending one person to the hospital for injuries and requiring aid from dozens of firefighters to douse the flames. Anyone with digital media from this area, including but not limited to videos and photos, please use this link to securely share them with investigators.

TIMELINE: What happened in the moments leading up to Arlington, Va. house explosion

Massive home explosion in Arlington, Virginia during SWAT standoff - NBC News

Massive home explosion in Arlington, Virginia during SWAT standoff.

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

Police were called to the North Burlington Street home Monday after Yoo allegedly shot a flare gun at the property, officials said. Over the years, Yoo filed a battery of lawsuits in New York and Virginia, accusing lawyers, judges, doctors and relatives of conspiring to violate his rights. 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. 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.

Arlington Fire Department investigates small series of explosions

The city is across the Potomac River from the US capital, Washington, DC. Blast suspect James Yoo is reported to have filed frivolous lawsuits against his ex-wife and younger sister. “I was sitting in my living room watching television and the whole house shook,” Maynes said.

Find out what’s happening in yourcommunity on the Patch app

With the gas cut off before the explosion, detectives are still investigating what caused such a big blast. For neighbors nearby, the explosion physically and emotionally shook them to their core. At some point, fire officials said the gas to the home was cut off and the situation reached a point when fire crews evacuated neighboring homes around 7 p.m. Chris White, a tech executive living in California, told NPR that he rented the house that exploded from Yoo and his wife from 2015 to 2016. The police chief stressed that the events are an isolated incident and said there is no ongoing threat to the community.

Two dead, five wounded in US high school graduation shooting

"The suspect was inside the residence at the time of the explosion, and he is presumed, at this point, to be deceased. Human remains have been located at the scene." Yoo, who described himself in some of his many court cases as a former security specialist for telecommunications companies, was rarely seen around his neighborhood in the county’s Bluemont area, residents said. Then, late Monday afternoon, someone began firing projectiles from “a flare-type gun” in the 800 block of North Burlington Street, police said. When officers arrived at Yoo’s home about 5 p.m., they were met with gunfire, and a barricade situation ensued. One man with burn injuries that were considered non-life threatening was taken to the hospital, but it wasn’t immediately clear if the person had been in the house or outside, fire Lt. Twana Allen said Sunday.

Arlington, Virginia house explosion: What happened and who is the suspect?

He did not respond to requests to come outside, prompting officers to fire irritants into the residence, police said. 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. Court records show that Yoo and his ex-wife, Stephanie Yoo, had a contentious divorce that was finalized in 2018 and that James Yoo later tried to overturn. In 2020, Yoo was held in contempt of court for failing to distribute assets to his ex-wife by a court-ordered deadline. The natural gas line to Yoo’s home was shut off before the explosion, Assistant Fire Chief Jason R. Jenkins told reporters. Penn said police are aware of "concerning social media posts made by the suspect," though did not elaborate.

Police officials said Yoo was inside the home at the time of the explosion, and they have found human remains. They are still waiting for the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner to identify the body they found, but they are presuming Yoo died in the blast. Penn said officers attempted to engage with Yoo to no avail, so they obtained a search warrant. When they breached the front door, the emergency response team was met with "multiple gunshots from a firearm coming from within the dwelling," Penn said.

Penn said Yoo did not have any previous interactions with officers at the address of the now-obliterated home. The only documented incidents between Yoo and law enforcement, he said, are two calls for service for loud noise over the past couple of years. Officials said they are still investigating the cause of the massive explosion that leveled the home and rocked Arlington's Bluemont neighborhood.

Police have asked that anyone with photos or video of the area share them with investigators. He put foil over the windows, blocked everything and never came out of the house,” neighbour Tracy Mitchell told NBC. Although the suspect’s motivations are still under investigation, Yoo’s life is believed to have been rife with troubled relationships.

Assistant Fire Chief Jason Jenkins noted that the fire department turned off the gas line to the house before the explosion occurred. The authorities identified the man as James Yoo, 56, of Arlington and said that human remains found at the scene were believed to be his. The police said that three officers had suffered “minor injuries,” but no one was transported to the hospital. Early Tuesday, the police had not identified the man inside the home or what his condition was. The police said on social media that residents should avoid the area, part of a densely populated suburban neighborhood with parks, restaurants and schools.

Numerous residents described the shock of the huge blast to ARLnow. Baltimore Gas and Electric, hazardous materials and fire investigators were at the scene. More than 50 firefighters worked to put out the fire and help with the pet rescues.