Internet aghast as Arlington home blows up after suspect fires flare gun and shoots at cops

ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA: A home on the 800 block of North Burlington Street got decimated in a massive explosion that rocked the neighborhood on December 4, 2023, reported NBC4.

An unnamed man was reported to the police for firing a flare gun from the house in question at around 4.45 pm. Authorities stated that when they tried to execute a search warrant after the arrival of SWAT around 8.35 pm, the suspect allegedly began to fire at them. Moments later, the duplex exploded in a gigantic blast.

The moment of the explosion was captured by a person present at the scene and uploaded on the social media platform X.

Police vehicles are seen lining the building as flames engulfed the home, tearing apart the roof and porch. Screams of people are heard as smoke billows in the frame.

The aftermath of the blast

Law enforcement officers at the scene reportedly received minor injuries and were not required to be taken to the hospital. No one else was known to be injured, stated authorities at a press conference.

The fire was under control of the firefighters, who were taking care of small spot fires late into the night, according to NBC4.

The suspect remains to be found as the investigation is joined by the FBI Washington Field Office and the ATF's Washington Field Division.

Neighbors talk about explosive experience

"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. All the lights went off immediately," neighbor Ann-Elise Quinn told the news outlet.

Another unnamed man from the area stated, "You could feel the sound concussion. I’ve been here for 50 years and I never experienced anything like that.”

Internet reacts to the footage of Arlington home exploding

"That looks like a scene out of lethal weapon or something. I've never seen anything like this," stated one user on X after the video of the blast went viral.

"What the heck was in that house?!" exclaimed another. "I hope it was an accident and not intentional 😰," wrote a user voicing their concern.

"I don’t know what I expected, but it definitely was not something that big 😳," posted a fourth user.

"Swat calling in airstrikes now?" asked a fifth.

"That looks suspiciously like the feds blew it up from the outside," one social media user wrote, while another said, "Well that's one way of getting rid of all the evidence." 

One user wrote, "That escalated quickly," while another asked, "What on earth is going on."