As police attempted to carry out a search warrant, a house exploded in Arlington, Virginia, on Monday night, setting it on fire while the suspect remained inside and forcing the evacuation of multiple surrounding homes, according to officials.
The blast tore through the house as the police attempted to speak with the suspect inside, and the cause of the explosion is being looked into by the authorities. Ashley Savage, a spokesman for the Arlington County Police Department, stated that investigators think the man had been shooting flare guns from his house earlier in the day.
According to a police statement released early Tuesday, officers had responded to reports of gunfire near the residence in the 800 block of N. Burlington Street just before 5 p.m.
Then, according to the police statement, they discovered that the suspect had fired the flare gun between thirty and forty times from his house into the neighborhood.
Officers tried to speak with the suspect by phone and over loudspeakers while conducting the investigation, and they were granted a search warrant for the suspect’s home. The statement stated that the suspect remained inside the residence and did not respond.
The suspect fired multiple rounds inside the house, likely from a firearm, as the police attempted to carry out the warrant. The house exploded at 8:25 p.m., or so, according to the police.
Witness footage shows police cars encircling a multi-story house when all of a sudden there is an explosion that shoots smoke, embers, and flames into the air and rains debris into the street. The building collapsed as a result of the explosion’s force, which also destroyed several walls and the roof.
Investigators aren’t aware of anyone else inside the house, and Savage claims the suspect was inside when the house exploded. The suspect’s current state of life is unknown.
According to police, three officers suffered minor wounds, but none of them needed hospitalization.
Although the Arlington Fire Department had contained the fire by around 10:30 p.m., authorities reported that they were still battling small spot fires.
Capt. Nate Hiner of the Arlington Fire Department stated that before firefighters entered the building further, they were waiting for a utility company to show up and secure the utility.
After the explosion, Hiner said on Monday night that several homes had been evacuated, but he did not give an exact figure.
“Nearby residents will be re-invited as the situation dictates, as soon as the fire is contained and there is no threat or risk of it spreading to those structures,” Hiner stated.
According to the FBI, local police are receiving assistance from the FBI’s Washington, DC, field office in their response to the explosion. The Pentagon and other famous sites in the nation’s capital are roughly 5 miles from the scene of the residential explosion.
Rep. Don Beyer, a Democrat from Virginia, said he was keeping an eye on the emergency response following a “major explosion” that occurred Monday night in the city’s Bluemont neighborhood.
“First responders are doing an amazing job of securing the area and keeping everyone safe. I appreciate their efforts,” Beyer wrote on X.
According to CNN affiliate WJLA, a man who lives roughly five blocks from the explosion said he was inside his house when it exploded.
“The sound of the concussion was palpable. Bob Maynes told WJLA, “It was impressive.” “In my fifty years here, I’ve never encountered anything like that.”
“I wanted to check on the integrity of the house,” was Maynes’ initial thought. “After I realized there was nothing wrong with my house, I asked myself if I wanted to go outside in case there was a major explosion. However, a large number of people were going outside.