Arlington is making headlines nationwide. Around 4:45 PM on December 4, the Arlington County Police were called to the 800 block of N. Burlington St. because of possible gunshots heard. 

The preliminary investigation showed that the suspect shot a flare gun 30 – 40 times inside his home into the surrounding area. There were no reports of damage or injury as an effect of the flare gunshots. 

Later that day, police officers obtained a search warrant for the suspect’s home and made several attempts to make contact with the suspect through his telephone and loudspeakers. The suspect did not respond and stayed inside his home. 

As police tried to secure the search warrant, the suspect fired several shots, from what is believed to be a firearm, inside the home. 

Around 8:25 PM, an explosion occurred inside the home. The investigation regarding how the explosion happened is still ongoing. 

Many people took to social media to talk about what happened. Internet sleuths found the duplex home on Zillow along with the homeowner’s name: James Yoo. 

The owner’s social media displayed evidence of his character. Specifically, James’ YouTube account had videos showing court filings from some of his failed lawsuits. Many of his other videos have been taken down along with most of his other social media accounts, as of early Tuesday morning. 

ARLnow interviewed Alex Wilson: a neighbor who recorded a viral video of the explosion. Wilson told the source that Yoo was a “recluse” who covered his windows in aluminum foil. 

Police have neither confirmed nor denied that Yoo was involved in the cause of the explosion. However, they have confirmed that he is the owner of the duplex so it is very likely he is involved. 

Students here at ACC are recounting how they felt when it happened. Junior Arlington Tech Student, Cody Finnegan, witnessed the explosion from about a block away. He saw the smoke rising and said that he “just looked outside and realized – holy crap something big happened.” 

As stated, Arlington is under heavy supervision after the events from last night. Police investigations will continue to unveil the truth about this somewhat mysterious explosion. ACC students and staff will certainly be following this local story unfold on national news.

Sources:

https://www.arlingtonva.us/About-Arlington/Newsroom/Articles/2023/Police-Issue-Preliminary-Statement-on-Home-Explosion

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/explosion-rocks-virginia-neighborhood-police-serve-search-warrant-home-rcna128037

https://www.npr.org/2023/12/05/1217290259/arlington-house-explosion-virginia

https://www.newsweek.com/who-james-woo-virginia-house-explosion-1849502

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