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

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• news Alerts
• Nearby Communities
• House in Arlington, Va., Explodes as Police Prepare to Serve Search Warrant
• MORE: 15 injured in fire, building collapse following gas line rupture in New York state: Officials
• Federal Investigators Pinpoint What Caused String Of Gas Explosions In Mass.
• TIMELINE: What happened in the moments leading up to Arlington, Va. house explosion

The cause of the explosion is under investigation and authorities are working to collect evidence from the scene. Initial reports suggested a man was holed up in his house, shooting a flare gun out of a window. When they arrived, crews found fire coming from the townhouse, the fire department said. During their search of the house in the Sycamore Heights townhome community, firefighters rescued four pets, including cats.

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The FBI in Washington was assisting in the investigation, a spokesperson for the agency's field office there said. The federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives also said it had fire investigators at the scene ready to assist. ARLINGTON, Va. — The Virginia man whose house in suburban Washington, D.C., blew up had a history of making unsubstantiated complaints that he had been defrauded, and just days before the explosion he claimed on social media that his neighbors were spies. "We were attempting to make contact with the individual when shots were discharged inside the residence."

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On Tuesday, officers wearing Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives jackets combed a nearby street looking through papers scattered in the debris field. Junk mail carrying Yoo’s name and the address of the home that exploded was visible on the street. An investigation into the cause of the explosion is ongoing, fire officials said. Police asked that anyone with photos or video of the area share them with investigators. As officers breached the door to enter the home, the suspect fired multiple gunshots from within the house, Penn said. He said it wasn’t clear where in the house the shots were coming from or what the suspect was firing at.

House in Arlington, Va., Explodes as Police Prepare to Serve Search Warrant

Fire crews had evacuated other residents of the duplex and surrounding homes starting at around 7 p.m. ET as a precaution, which "saved lives," Arlington County Fire Department Assistant Chief Jason Jenkins told reporters. Three police officers received minor injuries but were not taken to hospitals, the department said. Officials are unaware of anyone else who was hurt, they said at a news conference. A home exploded in Arlington, Virginia, on Monday night and rocked a neighborhood with a powerful blast after police say a suspect fired a flare gun into the neighborhood dozens of times.

District Court for the Western District of New York, Yoo filed a medical malpractice lawsuit against a hospital in 2018, claiming he was hospitalized against his will in 2015. In 2021, he sued his ex-wife’s divorce attorneys for $300 million, accusing them of fraud, intentional infliction of emotional distress and other offenses. 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. Arlington County Police Chief Andy Penn said human remains were recovered from the scene but have not yet been identified.

At the scene, crews discovered a small fire, as well as a destroyed privately owned outdoor book collection box – a Little Free Library. On Wednesday, the fire department responded to the 100 block of North Columbus Street for a reported fire outside. ARLINGTON, Va. — The Arlington Fire Department has opened an investigation into a series of small explosions that destroyed a privately owned outdoor library and damaged an amphitheater this week. All crimes are alleged and all suspects are considered innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. “Come to the front door with your hands up,” someone can be heard saying in the video. An hourslong standoff in a quiet neighborhood preceded the explosion.

Residents could hear and feel the explosion for miles around Arlington County, where the average population is over 9,000 people per square mile. Arlington County police have confirmed that James Yoo was the man at the center of the standoff at the Virginia home that exploded Monday night. Officials have not been able to go into the home and could not confirm whether there were any deaths. "Over the years he lived there, I might have seen him three or four times, and [he] always had a backpack," she said. He put foil over the windows, blocked everything and never came out of the house," she told NBC News, estimating the man had lived there for at least five years. "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.

Neighbors several blocks away described feeling the concussion from the blast in their homes. Wilson — the neighbor who took the video of the explosion from his roof — described Yoo as a recluse and said he had aluminum foil covering the windows. Police have not yet released any information about the suspect in the case, but a social media account may provide some clues. Patrick Hope (D), who lives in the area, posted on X — formerly Twitter — following the explosion.

Virginia house explosion not caused by firefight with federal agents. None were there - The Associated Press

Virginia house explosion not caused by firefight with federal agents. None were there.

Posted: Thu, 07 Dec 2023 08:00:00 GMT [source]

The authorities said that Mr. Yoo’s only previous encounters with the local police before Monday were related to a couple of noise complaints. But David Sundberg, assistant director in charge of the F.B.I.’s Washington field office, said that Mr. Yoo had submitted tips over the years about “alleged frauds” that he believed had been perpetrated against him. A man was presumed dead after his home in Arlington, Va., exploded into flames and burned for hours on Monday night as the police were preparing to search the house to investigate reports of possible gunfire, the authorities said. The person inside did not respond, and officers were trying to execute the search warrant when "the suspect discharged several rounds, from what is believed to be a firearm, inside the home," police added. Video posted to social media showed a huge fireball and what appeared to be the roof and other debris lofted into the air during the blast, which neighbors said could be heard and felt for miles around in the Washington, D.C., suburb.

"I walk past there all the time. It's a little frightening to think what's going on in these houses." 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. A public records search shows the house had been owned by Yoo since 1992.

Police obtained a search warrant for the home and tried to make contact with the suspect by telephone and loudspeakers, but he remained inside without responding, police said. Neighbours also told NBC News that Yoo’s house was in an alarming state before Monday’s explosion, with a trashed front yard and “no trespassing signs” everywhere. They said this was unlike the usually “very neat and clean” condition of the house.

Craig Kailimai, special agent in charge of the Washington field division for the ATF, said investigators were conducting a “grid search” of the home to determine the cause and origin of the explosion. Investigators have not yet identified human remains found inside the home, but “all factors point to that it’s this individual (Yoo),” Penn said. "With social media, you hear all of the stories, and I don't know if everything is true or not. I've been following that. There's still questions," With said. 7News obtained video of those late afternoon flares from Sarah Wilhoite, who saw this happen with her roommate.