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Explosion at Queens Home Injures Officers Responding to Domestic Dispute
A house explosion in Queens, New York, injured several police officers early Thursday as they responded to a report of an armed man and gas smell. Body camera footage captured the blast, which knocked officers back, and showed them rescuing children from the debris. Authorities reported the home collapsed, with the suspect unaccounted for.
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A massive explosion rocked a home in Queens, New York, early Thursday morning, injuring multiple police officers who were responding to a domestic dispute involving an armed man and the smell of gas. The blast occurred just as officers approached the door, sending them flying through the air and causing the structure to collapse.
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Neighboring homes sustained damage from the incident. m. when a fiery blast erupted, blowing out windows and knocking them across the yard into a gate. The footage captures the officers scrambling amid debris and smoke, checking on each other before helping two young children and other occupants stagger out of the building.
Eight officers were treated for minor injuries, including burns and at least one head laceration, according to police statements. All individuals inside the home were accounted for, though several were hospitalized. One source reported a total of 12 injured, including seven police officers and a firefighter.
The explosion followed a call about a man who arrived intoxicated at the home, carrying a knife and two garbage bags filled with canisters containing an unknown substance. He entered a basement apartment through an air conditioning unit, where his wife, daughter, and two grandchildren lived.
The family fled before officers arrived.
The man who prompted the call remains unaccounted for, police said. Sources differ on the cause: one reported the man set himself on fire, triggering the explosion, while others described it as a blast amid the gas smell without specifying self-immolation. The home in Ozone Park fully collapsed after the explosion. Authorities noted that neighboring properties were also affected.
