A massive explosion rocked the Arlington, Virginia, area Monday night, spurring speculation as to the cause of the blast before it was revealed that law enforcement agencies in the region were attempting to execute a search warrant at the site.
Initially, as anyone else who’s chronically online is already well aware, footage of the explosion in question started popping up all over social media. Reactions to said blast were immediate and decidedly impassioned, all of which only added to the temporary confusion surrounding the perplexing story.
By Tuesday morning, the Arlington County Police Department had issued a press release on the incident, with officials stating it began with officers being dispatched to the location at around 4:45 p.m. local time on Monday after receiving reports of “possible shots heard.”
According to police, the suspect at the location, which remains the subject of an ongoing investigation, is believed to have fired off a flare gun from inside the home up to 40 times. After responding to reports of these alleged shots and being granted a search warrant, responding officers say they “attempted to make contact with the suspect” via phone and over a loudspeaker system at the location.
“The suspect did not respond and remained barricaded inside the residence,” a police statement reads. “As officers were attempting to execute the search warrant, the suspect discharged several rounds, from what is believed to be a firearm, inside the home. Subsequently, at approximately 8:25 p.m., an explosion occurred at the residence. The investigation into the circumstances of the explosion are ongoing.”
Per a report from the Associated Press, the residence that exploded was a duplex. Additionally, per AP, the exact cause of the blast remained a mystery at the time of this writing.
The Arlington County Fire Department, meanwhile, confirmed just before 10:40 p.m. local time on Monday that the resulting fire was “under control.” Per police, no serious injuries requiring transportation to a hospital were reported, though the condition and identity of the suspect was also not immediately made public.
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