US Massive explosion reported at Arlington home after suspect fires flare gun during police search

Massive explosion reported at Arlington home after suspect fires flare gun during police search
FOX 5 DC (archive.ph)
By FOX 5 DC Digital Team
2023-12-04 04:24:28GMT

ARLINGTON, Va. - Community members in an Arlington neighborhood were told to shelter in place Monday night after police say a flare gun was fired inside a home, causing a massive explosion.

Arlington County police put out the alert just after 8:15 p.m., saying the incident occurred in the 800 block of N. Burlington Street in the Bluemont neighborhood.

Police say as officers were attempting to execute a search warrant at the residence, a suspect fired several rounds inside the home, which led to the explosion.

Neighbor Alex Wilson told FOX 5 this came after an hours-long standoff with the suspect. He said he took notice of what was happening around 4 p.m. when police rolled up to his neighbor's home. Wilson said as time went on, it was clear the situation was only getting worse.

"Three hours later, at least, we saw the SWAT truck arrive and when the SWAT truck arrived you know, you’re like, ‘oh things are escalating at that point,'" Wilson said.

Neighbors were immediately told to avoid the area as a large response came from Arlington Fire and police.

The flames took hours to put out. Arlington Fire and EMS said the fire was controlled around 10:30 p.m. and crews were only battling small spot fires by that time.

Officials say only minor injuries were reported but it's not yet clear how many people may have been involved. The explosion knocked the power out for several homes in the neighborhood.

Spoiler: Previous Version

ARLINGTON, Va. - Community members in an Arlington neighborhood are being told to shelter in place after police say a flare gun was fired inside a home, causing a massive explosion.

Arlington County police put out the alert just after 8:15 p.m., saying the incident occurred in the 800 block of N. Burlington Street in the Bluemont neighborhood.

Police say as officers were attempting to execute a search warrant at the residence, a suspect fired several rounds inside the home, which led to the explosion.
Arlington Fire and EMS said units are at the scene working to put out the fire.

They tell neighbors to expect a large fire department and police response and ask everyone to avoid the area as officials continue to investigate the circumstances of the explosion.

This is a developing story. Check back with FOX 5 for updates.

https://twitter.com/connormaj/status/1731853442056929425 (archive.ph)
catbox if the site is acting up: https://files.catbox.moe/y3px8m.mp4

 

[Morethanabitfoolish]

I'm mildly confused by something, both the OP article and the later one talk about rounds being fired and a flare gun. My assumption was different guns but then the spokesperson said this in the article on the prior page.

Savage said it is unclear whether the rounds were fired from a flare gun or a different firearm.

Two things. First do flare guns count as firearms? Secondly are they capable of firing rounds? I'd have assumed no to the second so I'm not clear why the official word is pretending to be confused about it aside from the crime scene being scorched earth and them having no clue what arsenal he had on the property. But surely they know if flares were being fired or not, meaning they know if it was a flare gun or not.

 

[Hitchhiker]

I'm mildly confused by something, both the OP article and the later one talk about rounds being fired and a flare gun. My assumption was different guns but then the spokesperson said this in the article on the prior page.

Two things. First do flare guns count as firearms? Secondly are they capable of firing rounds? I'd have assumed no to the second so I'm not clear why the official word is pretending to be confused about it aside from the crime scene being scorched earth and them having no clue what arsenal he had on the property. But surely they know if flares were being fired or not, meaning they know if it was a flare gun or not.

Flare guns aren't legally considered firearms in any state, they are really only capable of shooting flares, which look a lot like modified shotgun slugs.

The only thing I can think of is that maybe they think he fired the flare out of a shotgun, which might work, but I don't know.

 

[Premium Gonzo]

based chink explosion was cool !

 

['Ole Dente]

I’m not going to cry for some whacko removing some police from the gene pool in spectacular fashion. I would’ve prefer some political leaders who are directly responsible for our downfall but I can recognize a step in the right direction.

 

[Manul Otocolobus]

Chinese Fire Drill!

 

[The Feline Solution]

Some of my favorites from Twitter
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View attachment 5542908

Now that's the schizo shit that's right up my alley. Nice dig at his hamplanet neighbours. Did schizo chink buy the farm in that explosion? I find it a bit hard to believe that only minor injuries were sustained in that glorious explosion.

Gentlemen, we have a purestrain political nutter.


View attachment 5542963
View attachment 5542933View attachment 5542981

Big Dr. Matthew C. Harris vibes with this chink talking about himself in the third person. Loving it.

 

[TV's Adam West]

Home alone but instead of a child, it's a terminally online schizo being gaslight by kiwi farms and instead of thieves it's first responders trying to do a wellness check.

Send me to Hollywood.

 

[Oliver Onions]

He was just trying to recreate the experience of working in a factory in his homeland.

 

[Spicey McHaggis]

The only thing I can think of is that maybe they think he fired the flare out of a shotgun, which might work, but I don't know.

A regular flare wouldn't be possible to shoot out of a shotgun, every one I've ever seen is much wider than a shot shell. Dragons breath rounds for a shotgun would be a possibility.

 

[MembersSchoolPizza]

I'm mildly confused by something, both the OP article and the later one talk about rounds being fired and a flare gun. My assumption was different guns but then the spokesperson said this in the article on the prior page.

Two things. First do flare guns count as firearms? Secondly are they capable of firing rounds? I'd have assumed no to the second so I'm not clear why the official word is pretending to be confused about it aside from the crime scene being scorched earth and them having no clue what arsenal he had on the property. But surely they know if flares were being fired or not, meaning they know if it was a flare gun or not.

Flare guns aren't legally considered firearms in any state, they are really only capable of shooting flares, which look a lot like modified shotgun slugs.

The only thing I can think of is that maybe they think he fired the flare out of a shotgun, which might work, but I don't know.

A regular flare wouldn't be possible to shoot out of a shotgun, every one I've ever seen is much wider than a shot shell. Dragons breath rounds for a shotgun would be a possibility.

Okay, to clarify a few things...

Hitchhiker is right in that a flare gun is not legally considered a firearm.

Second, I'm going to preface this by saying I'm talking only about the standard orange plastic flare gun most people are familiar with... There are other flare gun designs, and what I'm about to say is not applicable to them necessarily.

The standard American Orion flare launcher fires a 12 gauge shell. It will fire just fine out of any 12 gauge break action shotgun, although it may or may not have feed problems on self-loading guns. I don't know, never tried. I would not suggest making a habit of it - it will probably foul the barrel a lot quicker than a regular round.

The reverse is not true. The standard flare round is choked down about halfway down the shell, which means although the flare will fit in a shotgun, a standard 12 gauge shell will not fit in a flare gun. A 12 gauge minishell will fit just fine, however. And the gun will fire it.

Once. And I don't suggest anyone try. Because the gun will explode. You may or may not get away with all your fingers and/or the factory default number of eyeballs. The gun may fire the projectile with enough force to do something, maybe, but you won't care at that point.

And because someone earlier mentioned it being effective to shoot someone with one because it's magnesium... Yeah, maybe, if you got lucky and it stuck in their clothes. In practice they tend to bounce off targets. They'll go through very thin stuff, but anything with much mass or resistance and they just tend to bounce off. And that's if you can even hit them. Beyond about 5 feet that's a crapshoot. Flare guns aren't actually guns. There's effectively no barrel. It's sort of like trying to shoot a roman candle, it just sort of gets flung outward away from the gun, but not with any accuracy. As someone I watched once put it, you're just trying to hit the sky, and that's a hard target hard to miss.

Now, the wiser folks, and the glowies, out there know that it's actually possible to make a single-shot zipgun that's relatively safe out of a flaregun, with some basic skills. Note that "relatively safe" does not mean "safe", it means "you might get away with a couple shots before it fails in a different, slightly less catastrophic way". However, in deference to the glowies I know that are reading this, I'm not going to explain how it's done. Y'all got Google, you can get added to the same fun lists I'm on. There's also no good reason for anyone law-abiding to do it, because the cheapest piece of crap used hi-point at a pawn shop would be 50x the gun, and wouldn't cost a whole lot more.

 

[Sammich]

Shame there were no feds inside when it happened.

That's pretty much my feeling too. For some reason i don't think he wanted to kill them, I think he was destroying evidence. As goofy and faggy as it might sound, vibes are very weird lately, a lot of shit going on in the world, and I wouldn't be surprised if a lot more normie/boomer type people start just fucking losing it.

 

[Troonos]

That's pretty much my feeling too. For some reason i don't think he wanted to kill them, I think he was destroying evidence. As goofy and faggy as it might sound, vibes are very weird lately, a lot of shit going on in the world, and I wouldn't be surprised if a lot more normie/boomer type people start just fucking losing it.

You're more of an optimist than I am. I feel like every generation of Americans has been so placated by bread and circus that we've lost our ability to reach that breaking point and revolt anymore.

 

[Orange Rhymer]

Definitely not a SJW. More like an Asian Supremacist. In one post he asks if "the whites and blacks are teaming up to keep Asians down". In another he says "All US hardware has backdoors... when I was a Tech Security guy in 2003, all our tech had back doors put in by Israeli companies... the US is sold out to Israel". Given his background before he went schizo, I actually don't doubt this.

This is what happens when your world narrative is both correct and incorrect.

...and you are nuttier than a fruitcake (with tannerite frosting)

 

[The Nothingness]

James Yoo clearly put the boom in boomer.

 

[Oliver Onions]

You're more of an optimist than I am. I feel like every generation of Americans has been so placated by bread and circus that we've lost our ability to reach that breaking point and revolt anymore.

I think anyone hoping for some sort of glorious uprising is living in a fantasy, but I can definitely see a lot more people going Jack Torrance due to a combination of over-socialisation and being endlessly battered by idpol designed to make you believe everything is getting worse, everywhere, at all times.

 

[neverendingmidi]

I'd be willing to wager Mr. Yoo was in close contact with a federal informant. This has glow in the dark written all over it. His paranoia seems so specific, I feel like someone was purposely fucking with him.

Honestly sounds a lot like Stoneman Warrior. Skitzo who died of gangrene. This skitzo just went out more actively.

 

[Lord Xenu]

The standard American Orion flare launcher fires a 12 gauge shell. It will fire just fine out of any 12 gauge break action shotgun, although it may or may not have feed problems on self-loading guns.

I've never seen one of these things, so I don't personally know it's true, but the cops in Canada have claimed to find those small caliber pen flares with live ammunition in them and charged people over it.

 

[MembersSchoolPizza]

I've never seen one of these things, so I don't personally know it's true, but the cops in Canada have claimed to find those small caliber pen flares with live ammunition in them and charged people over it.
View attachment 5543690

Those things would be even more autistic and retarded to use as a zip gun. There's literally no barrel on them. The flare is self contained in a little plastic cylinder you screw onto it. The only way you could put "live ammunition" in one is to find a cartridge where the rim was close enough in diameter to the threads and screw the rim right down into the threads. And then you would be firing an uncontained cartridge, which is so dumb even the stupidest ghetto thug wouldn't do it.

The only way you could do it would be to actually manufacture some sort of adapter that had a transfer pin to use the kinetic energy of the firing pin to go to what would effectively be a completely separate gun you just screwed into the fitting.

I could absolutely see some tard-brained jackboot thinking "Oh, we got ourselves a zip gun here!" when they saw it, though. Wouldn't hold up in court, you probably couldn't even find a DA dumb enough to try to press charges, or... I don't know.. Provincial Beaver Advocate or whatever stupid equivalent to a DA the leafs have. But it could still be a royal PITA.

 

[Orange Rhymer]

Those things would be even more autistic and retarded to use as a zip gun. There's literally no barrel on them. The flare is self contained in a little plastic cylinder you screw onto it. The only way you could put "live ammunition" in one is to find a cartridge where the rim was close enough in diameter to the threads and screw the rim right down into the threads. And then you would be firing an uncontained cartridge, which is so dumb even the stupidest ghetto thug wouldn't do it.

The only way you could do it would be to actually manufacture some sort of adapter that had a transfer pin to use the kinetic energy of the firing pin to go to what would effectively be a completely separate gun you just screwed into the fitting.

I could absolutely see some tard-brained jackboot thinking "Oh, we got ourselves a zip gun here!" when they saw it, though. Wouldn't hold up in court, you probably couldn't even find a DA dumb enough to try to press charges, or... I don't know.. Provincial Beaver Advocate or whatever stupid equivalent to a DA the leafs have. But it could still be a royal PITA.

Don't underestimate retarded authoritarians.

#BanAssaultFlareWeapons

 

[Lord Xenu]

I could absolutely see some tard-brained jackboot thinking "Oh, we got ourselves a zip gun here!" when they saw it, though.

This was exactly my thought on the topic when I first saw it. Now it's happened twice. The first time was a few months after the "buttmaster" incident. So I thought it was a good chance its just, cops being cops.

I never saw the pictures before today, just word of mouth. You can see the flare is in this one. Not long after this incident, a guy who was returning from a canoe trip got charged with one, as well. We love our cops, our law enforcement...

EDIT: FYI, these are on the shelves at Canadian Tire, a nationwide chain.