Suspect Identified After Virginia Home Explosion

ARLINGTON V.A. – Authorities are still investigating a house explosion that left one dead and 10 homes impacted.

“Our first thought was like, was it a bomb? Like, is there a major threat going on right now?” said Megan Madden, a local Arlington woman living just around the corner from the explosion. “We immediately went outside because we thought that it was impacting our house or our neighborhood or the building next door. It felt so close.”

Police were responding to a call of multiple shots fired. When they arrived on scene,56 year old James Yoo was barricaded in his home. He had fired a flare gun over 30 times inside. Officers had a search warrant for Yoo’s house and attempted to make contact with him over the phone and through loudspeakers. Yoo had no other previous contact with police, but they knew about him.

“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,” said Arlington Police Chief Charles Andy Penn.

Yoo is presumed to be dead after human remains were found inside the home. Police said three officers reported minor injuries, but none of them needed to be taken to a hospital.

At Tuesday’s press conference, county officials stated that 10 different homes were impacted by the blast.

Arlington officials say the investigation is still ongoing with no end in sight.