56 year old suspect James Yoo is presumed dead after a duplex house exploded in Arlington, Virginia on December 4. The FBI are currently investigating the cause of the explosion.

The police were investigating a report of shots being fired, which were later determined to be from a flare gun. While they investigated, they were able to obtain a search warrant for the home and when they went to fulfill the warrant, the suspect fired multiple rounds. It is unclear whether these shots were from a firearm or a flare gun. The house was then leveled by the explosion, where the police found what appeared to be human remains in the rubble.

“I know that flare guns and handguns sound kind of similar,” sophomore Jade Milam, “But you would think that officers would be able to tell the difference.”

James Yoo was an avidly paranoid conspiracy theorist who believed the US government was out to kill him. He went through a messy divorce with his wife which Yoo tried to overturn after its finalization in 2018. He also had a history of alcoholism and attempted, on multiple occasions, to convince the FBI that he was a victim of fraud, according to lawsuits the suspect himself filed.

These lawsuits were rambling and extensive, sometimes bordering on conspiracy theories, in which Yoo accused doctors, lawyers he formerly worked with, and judges for having underlying malignant motives against him. According to a statement Yoo made, his mother passed away in 1992 and left him in a debt of $500,000. In 2003, he was laid off from his head of security job at a now out-of-business telecommunications company called Global Crossing.

“It sounds like he had a lot of mental health issues,” freshman Jasmine Seeme said, “If it was him that died in the explosion, I hope he found peace.”

A few days before the explosion, Yoo made some concerning posts to his social media. On his LinkedIn profile, he wrote a theory about how his neighbors were secret spies sent to gather information on him. He also believed government officials, journalists, and law enforcement were out for blood against him.

Authorities have yet to discover what caused the home to explode. According to witnesses, the explosion could be heard from a few miles away. While other houses nearby were damaged, no one besides the supposed suspect was fatally injured.

“I read that they [the police] used something to try to flush him out,” sophomore Elaena Smith said, “I wonder if that could’ve been a factor in the house blowing up.”

Federal fire investigators are currently looking into the reason the home blew up. The pipe delivering natural gas to the home was shut off when the police were trying to enact the warrant, but there is a possibility that some gas contributed to the explosion. There is a lot yet to be discovered about this incident. Overall, the county of Arlington, Virginia is shocked by this event