VIDEO: Arlington Police Release Wild New Body Cam Footage of House Explosion

Jamie FreveleJun 7th, 2024, 2:07 pm
 

Six months after the December 2023 house explosion in Arlington, Virginia, Arlington County Police held a press conference Friday to provide more details and new footage from the incident.

Earlier reports stated that police were at the house to execute a search warrant when the homeowner discharged a flare gun inside. When the police arrived, the house exploded as they approached the home. None of the first responders present were hurt, but the homeowner was killed.

Arlington Police revealed that the 56-year-old homeowner James Yoo was responsible for setting up the explosion. There was also a standoff between Yoo and the police immediately prior to the explosion. An investigation into Yoo’s social media posts included language that was consistent with “suspicion of government and law enforcement,” however as Arlington Police Chief Andy Penn said at the conference: “As far as motive, unfortunately, we’re not going to know.”

The Washington Post wrote:

[Yoo] had gone through a contentious divorce, had a history of alcohol abuse and filing rambling lawsuits, and had repeatedly complained to the FBI, to no avail, that he was a fraud victim, The Post reported last fall.

Neighbors said that there were bags piled atop Yoo’s garage roof before the explosion — as if he seemed to be getting ready to move out.

Then, late on the night of Dec. 4, someone began firing “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.

Shortly before 8:30 p.m., an enormous blast from inside the home, heard for miles around, reduced the place to splinters and rained debris all over the block. Police said remains later found in the rubble are presumed to be Yoo’s.

The police also presented previously unreleased body cam footage from the moments leading up to the explosion, as well as different angles of the explosion itself:

Watch the video above via Fox 5 Washington DC on YouTube.

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