Whatever cops were looking for at this house in Arlington, Virginia, it isn't there any more. As they approached to serve a search warrant on a suspect within who had reportedly discharged a flare gun, an explosion obliterated the dwelling and the other side of the duplex with it.
"As officers were attempting to execute a search warrant at the residence, the suspect discharged several rounds inside the home. Subsequently, an explosion occurred at the residence and officers continue to investigate the circumstances of the explosion," Arlington police wrote on Twitter. "Officers on scene reported minor injuries with no one transported to the hospital."
Arlington Fire & EMS tweeted that it was "on scene of a structure fire" at the N. Burlington St. address and "actively working on fire suppression," adding that it was under control bout 90 minutes later.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pz24VVt-nSE
Nearby residents "took to social media to share they had heard a loud explosion around 8:30 p.m.," reported WTOP News. The video was posted by Fox 5 News online as courtesy footage from Alex Wilson, who it interviewed below. Wilson reports that the man in the house had just opened fire with a high-caliber weapon before the explosion; there's no word on the suspect, whose survival seems exceedingly unlikely.
Here's more of Alex's footage posted by Fox 5. It's a lesson to anyone who feels uneasy about filming an ongoing incident involving emergency services: ignore anyone telling you to turn off the camera and be reassured that you're performing a public service. But be aware of the law: in most jurisdictions you can be ordered to stay out of the way of police officers and emergency services—and should generally do so, for obvious reasons.
The house can be seen as it was on Google Street view, in an image dated there to 2012.
