House Explosion in North Arlington

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is the family ok that shares the duplex with him? I can’t watch news with my kids close by

No injuries reported per ARLnow. I think I saw somewhere that the neighbors had been evacuated before the explosion.

I also saw the report of no injuries but surely the suspect is??

The police report wording is strange, it does not mention the condition of the suspect (alive? hurt? in custody?)

"Police Issue Preliminary Statement on Home Explosion
ARLINGTON, Va. – At approximately 4:45 p.m. on December 4, the Arlington County Police Department was dispatched to the 800 block of N. Burlington Street for the report of possible shots heard. The preliminary investigation indicated a suspect discharged a flare gun approximately 30 – 40 times from inside his residence into the surrounding neighborhood. No property damage or injuries were reported related to the discharge of the flare gun.

During the course of the investigation, officers obtained a search warrant for the suspect’s residence and attempted to make contact with the suspect over the telephone and through loudspeakers. The suspect did not respond and remained barricaded inside the residence. 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.

The Arlington County Fire Department responded to the scene to extinguish the fire. As of approximately 10:30 p.m., the fire is under control and crews continue to battle small spot fires.

Three officers reported minor injuries and there were no transports to the hospital related to this incident. The investigation is ongoing."

Remember how long they looked for that submarine even though everyone involved heard the bang and knew what had happened? Same deal here. They can clearly confirm he is gone, though all signs point to yes, until they really confirm it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So incredibly sad that this man didn’t get mental health treatment he so obviously needs . How did he get so many guns?

Because ‘merica.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We live in the area and were told the suspect has tin foil covering his windows. Apparently the house was up for sale a few years ago but he also chased off potential buyers with a knife.

How the heck can someone’s mental health issues/danger to society be so obvious and yet we do nothing? Honestly this incident was a failure to this man as much as the surrounding neighbors. He clearly had paranoid delusions and was likely psychotic. Would have been better to stabilize him with medical treatment than deal with this fallout.

How do you propose to force him to take medication? I feel for his family. Sad, but since he is clearly violent, if he won't help himself by taking medication, we are better off without him.

Oh I know there isn’t much that can be done under our current lack of legal authority for mental health support. But as a society it’s nuts that we can’t involuntarily commit people like this. The guy was ranting his delusions online and threatening people. And as a side note, I wonder what would happen if a non-mentally ill person was making threats online? Aren’t there some sort of laws against this?

We need to bring back institutions and make it easier to get people help/keep others safe.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Interesting perspectives on mental illness exhibited in posts to this thread.

Yes the guy was a danger to both himself and society. He should’ve been in jail. Why did they need a search warrant if police saw him discharge the flare gun?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is the family ok that shares the duplex with him? I can’t watch news with my kids close by

No injuries reported per ARLnow. I think I saw somewhere that the neighbors had been evacuated before the explosion.

My friend lives right by this-she confirmed that the other side of the duplex had been evacuated to a neighbors house. They are ok.

I’m glad they are ok. I kept staring at their snowman inflatable on their side of the duplex when the whole thing exploded. Can you imagine. One day, you’re decorating for Christmas. The next day, the deranged person who lives next to you blows up his house and yours.

This. All your stuff, POOF. It sucks. Insurance almost never covers enough to rebuild. It's so traumatic for those kids!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We live in the area and were told the suspect has tin foil covering his windows. Apparently the house was up for sale a few years ago but he also chased off potential buyers with a knife.

How the heck can someone’s mental health issues/danger to society be so obvious and yet we do nothing? Honestly this incident was a failure to this man as much as the surrounding neighbors. He clearly had paranoid delusions and was likely psychotic. Would have been better to stabilize him with medical treatment than deal with this fallout.

There are some people who will not take medication because they do not believe anything is wrong with them! That is why it is so hard to get them help. You cannot help people who do not want help and who actively resist it (even violently).

Sounds like his ex-wife and other relatives tried to help him and he sued everyone he could locate in return, using snippets from various medical interviews in which clinicians had written down that he did not appear suicidal or unstable.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Interesting perspectives on mental illness exhibited in posts to this thread.

Yes the guy was a danger to both himself and society. He should’ve been in jail. Why did they need a search warrant if police saw him discharge the flare gun?

He should have been in a mental institution but we stupidly did away with those. Because if you just get rid of institutions mental illness will magically not be a problem anymore.

[Anonymous]

I just went down to Twitter, rabbit hole, and boy, what a tragedy all the way around. I feel bad for the neighbors, whose house and all of their possessions are obliterated. His family and I can’t imagine what everyone is going through.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

This guy is sooo DC.

The epitome of North Arlington, right here.

I watched the clip on the news at 11. It was cringey how giddy the guy was. But if that psycho was my neighbor, I would probably be relieved too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We live in the area and were told the suspect has tin foil covering his windows. Apparently the house was up for sale a few years ago but he also chased off potential buyers with a knife.

How the heck can someone’s mental health issues/danger to society be so obvious and yet we do nothing? Honestly this incident was a failure to this man as much as the surrounding neighbors. He clearly had paranoid delusions and was likely psychotic. Would have been better to stabilize him with medical treatment than deal with this fallout.

This is how so many of us with family members with mental health issues feel. There’s nothing we can do. If you look at this man’s LinkedIn, and YouTube its obvious he’s been struggling and a risk for decades. He has filed lawsuits, claiming family members, and the government were out to get him. He even marks Donald Trump inauguration day as a key point in one of his lawsuits. None of it makes sense.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

This guy is sooo DC.

The epitome of North Arlington, right here.

I watched the clip on the news at 11. It was cringey how giddy the guy was. But if that psycho was my neighbor, I would probably be relieved too.

Give that guy a break. I’m sure he was nervous and had adrenaline running like crazy. You never know how you’re going to react in that situation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

This guy is sooo DC.

The epitome of North Arlington, right here.

I watched the clip on the news at 11. It was cringey how giddy the guy was. But if that psycho was my neighbor, I would probably be relieved too.

It was 100% adrenaline. I would have been like that too.

[Anonymous]

I think we need to breathe a collective sigh of relief that this person likely only hurt himself. This seems like the kind of person who would commit something on a mass scale that would have been MUCH MUCH worse. Society sitting around and doing nothing, allow these kind of sick people to accumulate so many dangerous weapons and harass people, but label it a mental health crisis, creat this.

I watched a paranoid schizophrenic kill someone he claimed was reading his mind. All the signs were there, prior outbursts, accumulating weapons, multiple threats. Yet no one did anything. That was 30 years ago.nothing changes. Thank god he didn’t take his angst up to Ballston Mall or the elementary school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So incredibly sad that this man didn’t get mental health treatment he so obviously needs . How did he get so many guns?

Because ‘merica.

Because of Ken Kesey

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

This guy is sooo DC.

The epitome of North Arlington, right here.

I watched the clip on the news at 11. It was cringey how giddy the guy was. But if that psycho was my neighbor, I would probably be relieved too.

Give that guy a break. I’m sure he was nervous and had adrenaline running like crazy. You never know how you’re going to react in that situation.

I have no clue how I’d react, I’m just saying it was cringey to watch.