Wild video captured the moment a Virginia home exploded Monday evening after a suspect inside the residence shot at authorities attempting to serve a search warrant, according to police and witnesses.
The massive explosion in Arlington sent debris and flames bursting toward the sky around 8:20 p.m., and could be heard and felt from miles away.
“Holy f—king sh-t,” a person exclaimed as car alarms blared.
Arlington County police said the officers were trying to execute a search warrant when a suspect fired several rounds from inside the now-leveled home.
Officers suffered minor injuries, and no one needed to go to the hospital.
The condition of the suspect was not immediately known. It is also unknown if anyone else was in the house.
Warning: Strong language
Police previously said they were investigating after someone fired a flare gun from the house.
Alex Wilson, the man who apparently recorded the jaw-dropping footage, told Fox 5 DC police approached the house with a swat truck when the suspect began shooting at them.
As cops began driving forward toward a window “the whole place went up,” Wilson said.
Police said someone fired a flare gun inside the house. X / @connormaj
Police were trying to execute a search warrant at the home.
“It was wild, it was wild to say the least,” Wilson said in more footage of his interview with Fox 5 DC.
The police standoff had been ongoing for at least a few hours.
Arlington County police spokesperson Ashley Savage said it’s unknown if the suspect was firing a flare gun or another weapon at police.
The Arlington County Police Department said in a statement that the suspect fired several shots inside the home before the explosion happened. AP
An Arlington County Fire Department ladder truck sprays water down on the remains of a house that exploded on Monday, Dec. 4, 2023, in Arlington, Va. AP
Fire and police officials walk around the scene of a house explosion as an Arlington County Fire Department ladder truck sprays water down on the remains of the building on Dec. 4, 2023, in Arlington, Va. APVirginia Delegate Patrick Hope, who lives with his family nearby, said in a tweet his house shook and he could see flames from his front yard.
“I was in the back of my house, and I had been hearing prior to this, some sort of firecracker sorts of sounds, and then suddenly there’s a loud boom, and my entire house is shaking,” neighbor Ann-Elise Quinn told NBC 4 Washington.
“All the lights went off immediately.”
Arlington Fire and Rescue said the fire was under control close to 11 p.m. Monday.
An investigation into the explosion is ongoing.
With Post wires
