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- Suspect who shot at police from Virginia home that exploded is dead, authorities say
- House explodes in Arlington, Virginia, while police serving search warrant, officials say
- Shots fired and then an explosion
- Owner of exploded Michigan building arrested at airport while trying to leave US, authorities say
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The March 4 fire and explosion occurred in a Clinton Township building that housed a distributor for the vaping industry called Goo. Authorities have said a truckload of butane canisters had arrived at the building within a week of the explosion that sent cannisters soaring up to 2 miles (3.2 kilometers), and more than half of that stock was still there when the fire began. A fire followed the explosion, and although early reports indicated people still may have been in the building, Hunterdale VFD said that crews did not find anyone inside when they checked it. "We can't confirm if he was in the home or outside of the home. We do know originally, we had no injuries and then someone presented themselves to first responders on scene with injuries," Bureau Chief Travis Francis told 11 News. "He was immediately treated by our EMS crews and transported to the hospital." While at the scene, a male reported having burn injuries and was taken to the hospital for further treatment.
Fairfax Co. firefighters battle large fire that tore through house - WTOP
Fairfax Co. firefighters battle large fire that tore through house.
Posted: Mon, 18 Mar 2024 07:00:00 GMT [source]
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Police said in a statement that a preliminary investigation indicated the suspect "discharged a flare gun approximately times from inside his residence into the surrounding neighborhood." The suspect who fired at officers from a duplex in an Arlington, Virginia, neighborhood before the home exploded on Monday night is presumed dead, according to authorities. 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. "I would characterize these communications as primarily complaints about alleged frauds he believed were perpetrated against him," Sundberg told reporters.
Suspect who shot at police from Virginia home that exploded is dead, authorities say
He said he heard police announce they were going to try to ram the front door, so he went on his roof to start recording. 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. “We have not been able to access the home at this point, so I don’t have the status of the suspect,” said Ashley Savage, a spokeswoman for the Arlington County Police Department, by phone.
House explodes in Arlington, Virginia, while police serving search warrant, officials say
The man was “believed to be inside the residence at the time of the explosion.” The investigation into the explosion is ongoing, the police said in the statement. 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.
Shots fired and then an explosion
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives said federal fire agents are assisting the investigation. 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. “It was somewhat chaotic as we tried to figure out how many firefighters were trapped under the debris," he said. A total of 11 first responders were sent to hospitals with “varying degrees of injuries” Friday night, including the one who died. 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. "Based on the preliminary investigation of the incident, we believe the resident of the home, James Yoo, 56, of Arlington, is the involved suspect," Penn said.
Washington County Sheriff Fred Newman said Thursday afternoon that the family had trouble with their furnace and thought they turned it off Wednesday night. Gas built up in the basement overnight and Newman said something triggered the explosion that “completely demolished” the home. The sheriff’s office says the explosion was likely accidental, not criminal and may have involved a burn barrel. News outlets report that Hanover County Fire and EMS said crews responded to a report of an explosion at a home on Billingswood Drive in Mechanicsville around 5 p.m.
Suspect James Yoo believed killed in Virginia house explosion - BBC.com
Suspect James Yoo believed killed in Virginia house explosion.
Posted: Tue, 05 Dec 2023 08:00:00 GMT [source]
As for what caused the explosion, Jarrett said it’s still too early to tell. She said Virginia State Police investigators are working to figure out what happened. Emergency workers took at least two people to the hospital after an explosion at a home on April 15. "We have all of our resources here, including BGE, who runs our gas for the county," said Francis. "We're going to make sure that everything is safe in the neighborhood. We don't know what caused this so that'll be looked into." Baltimore Gas and Electric, hazardous materials and fire investigation officials responded to the scene.
Savage said police did not have any evidence that others were in the duplex but could not rule out the possibility. When a tactical unit of police officers breached the front door, attempting to execute the search warrant, a person inside opened fire with a gun, Penn said. In an effort to flush him out, “officers began to deploy nonflammable, less-lethal chemical munitions to multiple areas within the residence where the suspect was believed to be hiding,” Penn said. Monday, when police received a call about possible shots fired on Yoo’s block. It was “a flare-type gun,” Penn said, and more than 30 projectiles had been fired. As Yoo barricaded himself inside the home, authorities obtained a search warrant to enter the property and look for weapons, Penn said.

The officers escaped serious injury but it was unclear what happened to the suspect who was inside when the building was leveled, an Arlington county police spokesperson, Ashley Savage, said. At Tuesday’s briefing, Jenkins said investigators have not ruled out chemical munitions as a possible contributor to the explosion. David Sundberg, the No. 2 official in the FBI’s Washington Field Office, said Yoo had repeatedly contacted the bureau “via phone calls, online tips and letters over a number of years,” complaining of fraud. Sundberg declined to detail the complaints but said none of them prompted the FBI to open an investigation.
"The information contained therein and the nature of those communications did not lead to opening any FBI investigations." One video posted to social media appears to show a vehicle with a flashing blue light approaching the home when a loud blast suddenly blows off the roof of the house. Within seconds, the building appears to crumple to the ground and burst into flames, sending debris flying through the air and setting off a nearby car alarm. The authorities said that Mr. Yoo’s only previous encounters with the local police before Monday were related to a couple of noise complaints.
Fire officials do not know the cause of the explosion, said Nate Hiner, a spokesperson for the Arlington fire department. After attempts to communicate with Yoo were unsuccessful, police obtained a search warrant. “We are aware of concerning social media posts allegedly made by the suspect, and these will be reviewed as part of the ongoing criminal investigation,” Penn 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. 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.
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. 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. Two other nearby homes received moderate damage stemming from the fire, which was extinguished by Sunday morning and still under investigation, Allen said. 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.