Queens Home Explosion Injures 8 NYPD Officers

New York Police Department officers were injured early Thursday when a Queens home exploded moments after they arrived to respond to a domestic dispute call, hurling several of them backward as flames engulfed the three-family building.

The incident unfolded around 2:42 a.m. in South Ozone Park at a residence near 109th Avenue and 130th Street. A family member dialed 911 to report that 50-year-old Anroop Parasaram had arrived intoxicated, armed with a knife, and that a smell of gas was present in the home. Security footage showed Parasaram forcing his way into the basement apartment, where his wife, daughter and two grandchildren lived, by pushing in an air conditioning unit. He carried two garbage bags containing canisters later determined to hold gasoline and an unknown substance, which he poured before igniting it, according to police.

Officers from the 106th Precinct arrived about 16 minutes later. Parasaram's wife, who had escaped, handed them a key to the front door. As an officer attempted to unlock it just before 3 a.m., a massive fiery blast erupted at 2:57 a.m., throwing multiple officers off their feet and into nearby gates. Bodycam footage released later Thursday by...