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Officers were called to James Yoo's home, a duplex on N. Burlington Street, after Yoo fired multiple rounds from a flare gun out of his window, police said.
Yoo barricaded himself inside, prompting a 3-hour and 40-minute standoff that ended in a home explosion, that authorities are now saying was caused by Yoo.
Investigators determined that Yoo had stockpiled more than 35 gallons of gasoline at his home, federal and local police said on Friday, June 7, 2024.
While officers had fired 16 rounds of pepper spray and tear gas into the home in an attempt to bring Yoo out, the blast was caused by gas that Yoo had spread throughout the home, and ignited from the basement, officials said.
A neighbor told investigators that months before the blast, Yoo had lighter fluid, bleach, and mass amounts of charcoal delivered.
In announcing their findings, police also released a nearly 10-minute time-lapse video documenting the explosion from various local Ring doorbells and police-worn bodycam footage.
Police also determined that the remains found in the home were those of Yoo, who they said died of thermal injuries and blunt force trauma.
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