ARLINGTON (Virginia, US), Dec 6 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The Virginia man whose house in suburban Washington, D.C., blew up had a history of making unsubstantiated complaints that he had been defrauded, and just days before the explosion he claimed on social media that his neighbors were spies.
James Yoo is presumed dead after the Arlington residence went up in a fireball as police officers tried to serve a search warrant, authorities said Tuesday.
Police were called to the North Burlington Street home Monday after Yoo allegedly shot a flare gun at the property, officials said.
He did not respond to requests to come outside, prompting officers to fire irritants into the residence, police said.
The home would later explode, killing the man inside, Arlington County Police Chief Andy Penn said.
The cause of the explosion is still unknown and under investigation.
Yoo was no stranger to federal authorities.
He “previously communicated with the FBI via phone calls, online tips and letters over a number of years,” said Dave Sundberg, the assistant director in charge of the FBI’s Washington field office.
“I would characterize these communications as primarily complaints about alleged frauds he believed were perpetrated against him,” Sundberg said. “The nature of those communications did not lead to the FBI opening any investigations.”
In a LinkedIn post Friday, Yoo appeared to accuse his neighbors of being spies. His LinkedIn and YouTube pages have been deleted.
The home was briefly on the market in 2021, real estate records showed.
James and Stephanie Yoo were in an acrimonious divorce, according to local Realtor Daniel Boris, who was retained to sell the couple’s two Northern Virginia properties, in Arlington and McLean.
The pair eventually reached a settlement, allowing him to remain in the house, Boris said. The couple’s other property in McLean did sell. — NNN-AGENCIES