Virginia Neighborhood Rocked by Huge House Explosion as Police Serve Search Warrant

A home in Arlington, Va. exploded suddenly on Monday night as neighbors watched and captured video of the incident

Police are investigating a house explosion that shocked a Virginia neighborhood on Monday afternoon.

A suspect allegedly fired a flare gun somewhere between 30 to 40 times while inside his Arlington home, according to an Arlington Police Department press release. Authorities responded to the area around 4:45 p.m. local time after receiving a 911 call from neighbors who heard gunshots. They discovered the property had not been damaged and no one was injured as a result of the flare gun discharge.

Police obtained a search warrant and attempted to talk to the suspect inside the home, but the person remained barricaded inside and did not respond to authorities. Before police could execute the search warrant, around 8:25 p.m., the suspect fired what authorities believe was a firearm and an explosion engulfed the home.

The investigation into the explosion remains ongoing, police said per the release.

The Arlington County Fire Department arrived on the scene and responded to the massive fire that resulted from the explosion. As of 10:30 p.m. Monday night, police said the fire was under control.

Three officers on the scene suffered minor injuries, but authorities noted that no one was transported to the hospital.

Related: 5 Hospitalized After New Jersey House Explosion, Authorities Say

Local news outlet NBC4 reported that at the moment the house exploded, an armored police vehicle was outside the residence as a SWAT team had been called to the scene.

A neighbor told the outlet that her “entire house” was “shaking” and it was “unmistakably” clear that an explosion had occurred.

Resident Ann-Elise Quinn said, “All the lights went off immediately, and I heard my neighbors starting to come outside. And when I got downstairs to my front room, fortunately my window hadn’t shattered, but the entire pane had been pushed in, so that’s just the amount of the shockwave.”

Another neighbor, Bob Maynes, told the outlet, “You could feel the sound concussion. It was impressive.”

Related: 5 Dead, 3 Injured After Explosion in Pennsylvania Destroys Several Homes

As of 6 a.m. Tuesday morning, the outlet reported that the suspect had not yet been located, but noted that police confirmed he was inside the house at the time of the explosion.

Arlington County police spokesperson Ashley Savage told reporters that authorities are “only aware of one individual who was inside the home,” NBC News reported.

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Several videos shared online captured the impressive flames that consumed the home — and how suddenly it was engulfed.

Former Secretary of the Senate Kelly D Johnston shared a video of the explosion on X (formerly known as Twitter) as he shared that his son lives on the street where it occurred.

“Electricity is out, obviously, and no one is [being] allowed to travel in or out by car. Fortunate that while at least two homes are destroyed, no evidence of serious injury,” Johnston wrote in the post alongside the brief clip of the explosion. 

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