House Explosion in North Arlington

Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
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?


To clear the air:

This is a regular SFH/brick duplex neighborhood in Arlington a couple of blocks from the Ballston metro, near a popular trail, a big elementary school, a large community center, etc. About as low-crime, suburban kind of neighborhood as it gets, with those small, close-in lots.

There's no such thing as a "meth lab" in Arlington, lots are too small and rents are too high for there to be vacant properties like that. Small older houses sell for $850K in one week and are torn down to build $1.5M McMansions.

There is no evidence of any guns except the flare gun, so laws may have actually worked in this case. Signs point to natural gas as the source of the explosion.

Records show family (sister and ex-wife) had tried to get him mental health treatment, which is hard to do with an adult.

Calling him "racist against white people" is ridiculous. He was an untreated paranoid schizophrenic, he didn't have coherent thoughts, he thought anyone and everyone was out to get him.


Pretty clearly he was racist against white people, he put that right on YouTube. If it was a white paranoid schizophrenic racist he'd still be a racist, works both ways.


Don't know why you are so determined to say he is racist against white people. His complaints about his neighbors were not just that they were white, he also said they were spies, witches, and aliens. Racism is prejudice against a person or community because of their race. He wasn't prejudiced. He was psychotic.


Interesting that everyone is assuming that he was wrong and that the neighbors were not spying on him.


He had foil on his windows.
He chased away a potential home buyer with a knife.
He thinks ESPN is out to get him, sending him "signals" in their commercials/ads.
He noted Donald Trump's inauguration date as a key point in one of his law suits (a signal that he was being stalked/watched).
And on and on....

What do you think?


I think that all of this information has come out in the last 12 hours and early reports are often wrong.


Those aren't "reports". These are from posts from his own linked in from the past few years.
Anonymous
People who cover their windows or *never* open their curtains/blinds (even in daytime) should automatically be on a watchlist.
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:

This was an intentional natural gas explosion. You have the same “explosives” in your own home.


But then how did law enforcement escape unscathed even though they were right outside the front door? I witnessed a natural gas explosion in Massachusetts a few decades ago, and everyone in the immediate vicinity died.


Could be a lot of differences. For one, if you watch the video, it seems as if the main blast from the explosion is to the side, and I don’t think there were any houses on that side. Had the main thrust been to the front, we may very well have seen police deaths.
Anonymous
I live in an area with lots of duplexes. We had one that had one side burn down and they rebuilt the one side. But obviously the other one was still there.

But i would think they could just rebuild half of it. Like this (different situation, but you can see it survives as half a house)

https://www.bostonglobe.com/business/2015/09/08/dorchester-home-seeks-other-half/ZiuBnwzH63313rvQT1dIiJ/story.html

Anonymous
This is why I would never buy half of a duplex. Logistical nightmare.
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:

This was an intentional natural gas explosion. You have the same “explosives” in your own home.


But then how did law enforcement escape unscathed even though they were right outside the front door? I witnessed a natural gas explosion in Massachusetts a few decades ago, and everyone in the immediate vicinity died.


Could be a lot of differences. For one, if you watch the video, it seems as if the main blast from the explosion is to the side, and I don’t think there were any houses on that side. Had the main thrust been to the front, we may very well have seen police deaths.


And weren't the police in the armored vehicle?
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:This is why I would never buy half of a duplex. Logistical nightmare.


That seems silly. So you would never buy a townhome or rowhouse? Because of a rare isolate incident with a crazy person? Do some research on the neighbors, and 99.99% of the time you will be fine. Don't buy a home adjacent to a house with covered up windows.
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:This is why I would never buy half of a duplex. Logistical nightmare.


That seems silly. So you would never buy a townhome or rowhouse? Because of a rare isolate incident with a crazy person? Do some research on the neighbors, and 99.99% of the time you will be fine. Don't buy a home adjacent to a house with covered up windows.


+1

Also, property owners are in the public record. Before making an offer, Google the people next to you to see if they post paranoid delusions.
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:

So the neighbor's house is gone as well?




It was a duplex. Two separate units in that brick structure that from a distance looks like a SFH


Ah, sorry, I get it now.
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:

This was an intentional natural gas explosion. You have the same “explosives” in your own home.


But then how did law enforcement escape unscathed even though they were right outside the front door? I witnessed a natural gas explosion in Massachusetts a few decades ago, and everyone in the immediate vicinity died.


Natural gas home explosions are weird that way. Google them.

There have been cases where the house is blown to smithereens but the people inside somehow survive.

Very weird, but not surprising the police were OK (thank goodness).

Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:Most homeowners insurance will deny a claim caused by the home owner, such as arson. It voids the policy. I wonder if this will be the case here and makes me feel even worse for the other duplex family as they will have an uphill battle getting it rebuilt.

In Del Ray 2 years ago there was a duplex that burned quickly to the ground (and taking cars with it). The fire started in the side that housed a well known hoarder and she also hoarded propane tanks among other trash. The first very quickly spread to the adjoining unit where a mother and baby were home and she said she barely had time to get her baby and her dog out, much less move her car or grab anything else. Police evacuated a 4 block radius for hours.

It still hasn’t been rebuilt.


They'll have to sue him, but I doubt he has money. I would imagine their insurance would kick in which will cost them a lot on the long run
Anonymous
We live a couple of blocks away and there was a very strong smell in the air last night after the explosion.
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:This is why I would never buy half of a duplex. Logistical nightmare.


That seems silly. So you would never buy a townhome or rowhouse? Because of a rare isolate incident with a crazy person? Do some research on the neighbors, and 99.99% of the time you will be fine. Don't buy a home adjacent to a house with covered up windows.


+1

Also, property owners are in the public record. Before making an offer, Google the people next to you to see if they post paranoid delusions.


Anyone with a mental illness should be put on a public watch-list, so home buyers can just google them, and avoid having to live near the mentally ill.
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:This is why I would never buy half of a duplex. Logistical nightmare.


That seems silly. So you would never buy a townhome or rowhouse? Because of a rare isolate incident with a crazy person? Do some research on the neighbors, and 99.99% of the time you will be fine. Don't buy a home adjacent to a house with covered up windows.


+1

Also, property owners are in the public record. Before making an offer, Google the people next to you to see if they post paranoid delusions.


Anyone with a mental illness should be put on a public watch-list, so home buyers can just google them, and avoid having to live near the mentally ill.


Agree.

I would not want any of those people in my neighborhood.
Anonymous
I don't understand the comments about duplex ownership. You can own a duplex in fee simple, just like a rowhouse: you own the land and the walls. If two row houses burn down, one person can decide to rebuild even if the other doesn't.
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