A Virginia resident, known for his erratic social media activity and a series of dismissed lawsuits, has been connected to the Arlington residence that was engulfed in a fiery explosion on Monday evening.
The incident occurred after law enforcement arrived on the scene to investigate reports of flares being fired into the local community from the property.
Public records reveal that James Yoo, 56, resided in a duplex on the same block where the explosion was captured on video by eyewitnesses. However, the police have yet to officially name a suspect in the case.
Despite his LinkedIn profile being deactivated, Yoo managed to archive some of his posts on a YouTube page. This page also features silent videos of court documents related to his unsuccessful lawsuits. Two videos containing his recent LinkedIn posts seemed to have been taken down on Tuesday morning.
Yoo's posts include derogatory references to his ex-wife, anti-American sentiments such as "#F---AMERICA," and quotations from Noam Chomsky. His profile description asserts that he was a "Former Head of Information and Physical Security for an international telecommunication company."
His profile further states, "I gave THEM / Y'ALL every opportunity to 'do the right thing' and all I see is America's hypocrisy, corruption, fraud, conspiracy"
Alex Wilson, a local resident who filmed the explosion, described Yoo to Arlington Now as a "recluse" who had covered his windows with aluminum foil.
In a post dated December 1, Yoo expressed his frustration about his neighbor's "activity," stating, "This is how White people operate and have the luxury of outnumbering all other races by almost 7 to 1 in 'Merica." In a late October post, he alleged that he was the recipient of "hateful messaging" and made allusions to assassination.
In February of the previous year, Yoo attempted to sue his ex-wife, the state of New York, and over a dozen others on charges of fraud, conspiracy to deprive him of civil rights, and other allegations.
A federal judge dismissed the case with prejudice two months later, labeling the lawsuit as "frivolous and confused." This was one of several similar complaints that were also dismissed.
Yoo's address, as listed in court documents and social media posts, is on North Burlington Street the same location where law enforcement responded on Monday night prior to the explosion.
A shocking video shows a law enforcement vehicle approaching the house just before a fireball engulfs the scene. The explosion sent a plume of fire into the sky, causing the building to collapse. The force of the blast triggered at least one car alarm in the neighborhood.
Police reported that they initially responded to the house around 4:45 p.m. following reports of someone inside firing dozens of rounds from a flare gun "into the surrounding neighborhood."
Attempts to establish contact through phone calls and loudspeakers were unsuccessful.
"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," police stated. "Subsequently, at approximately 8:25 p.m., an explosion occurred at the residence. The investigation into the circumstances of the explosion are ongoing."
Three officers sustained minor injuries in the blast, but none required hospitalization, according to authorities. Firefighters had the scene under control around 10:30 p.m., but continued to extinguish spot fires into the late night hours.
As of Tuesday morning, calls and emails to Arlington police remained unanswered.
Login