Around 4:40 pm Eastern, officers replied to a call for shots fired on the 800 block of N Burlington in Arlington, Virginia. During a preliminary investigation, officers uncovered that the man had lobbed between 30 and 40 flare rounds around the neighborhood.
Issuing a shelter-in-place order for the neighborhood, the police wanted to ensure residents stayed safe. After SWAT arrived, they attempted to communicate with the man via phone and loudspeaker, but he remained dug in and refused to come out.
Reaching 8:30 pm, officers finally received a search warrant for the residence. As they closed in, they allegedly heard shots they believed to be a firearm from inside the residence. Suddenly, the house exploded. Luckily, the officers on scene only suffered some minor injuries that were treated on the scene. Due to the intense heat from the explosion, neighboring residences were evacuated as a precaution, but allowed to return in the early hours of Tuesday morning.
Arlington County Fire Department was already on the scene and battled the resulting blaze until 10:30 pm when it was reduced to small hot spots. So far, nobody has been found of the assailant, but police do believe he was inside. Thankfully, they do not know of anyone else who may have been in the residence. Powerful enough to be felt by Bob Maynes who lives five blocks away, he told WJLA, “You could feel the sound concussion … It was impressive. I’ve been here for 50 years, and I’ve never experienced anything like that.”
