NYPD Police Officers Thrown by Apartment Gas Explosion While Answering Domestic Dispute
What to know
- NYPD police officers responding to a domestic dispute in a Queens home were injured when a massive gas explosion erupted as they attempted to enter a basement apartment filled with gas.
- Seven NYPD police officers and a sergeant were hurt in the blast, with officers knocked off their feet before rushing back into the burning building to help move a person to safety.
- The home collapsed in a five‑alarm fire, and police say the armed estranged husband at the center of the dispute may have died in the explosion.
A domestic dispute in a Queens home early Thursday culminated in a massive gas explosion that destroyed the building and injured multiple NYPD cops, officials said.
Police were called to settle the domestic dispute inside the basement apartment of the two-story home on 130th St. near 109th Ave. in South Ozone Park about 2:45 a.m.
A woman said her estranged husband, 50, had shown up at the home with a knife. He forced his way in by shoving in an air conditioner sticking out of a window and terrorized the woman, her daughter and her two grandchildren, NYPD Assistant Chief Christopher McIntosh said at a briefing Thursday morning.
Surveillance video shows the suspect walking to the area carrying two large bags with an unknown liquid, McIntosh said.
When police responded, they were met by the wife, who said her husband had locked himself in the basement apartment. There was also a heavy smell of gas.
She gave police the keys to the basement apartment and as cops attempted to gain access, a “massive fiery explosion erupted,” McIntosh said.
“(The officers) were violently thrown off their feet with some thrown into gates at the residence,” the chief said. “Even after that several officers rushed into the danger and went into the building and located one person and helped them move to safety.”
Seven NYPD officers and a sergeant were injured in the blast.
Multiple FDNY fire units were called in to battle the five-alarm blaze. The wounded cops were taken to an area hospital with minor burns, McIntosh said. One cop suffered a deep gash to his head that required stitches.
“We got very lucky today,” McIntosh said. “This could have turned out very differently. Once again we are reminded of the heroics of our officers and the unforeseen dangers they encounter every single day.”
“The dangerous explosion was so powerful that it knocked them off their feet, but they stood up, got up and ran into the burning home, because that’s what the job required,” he added. “Thankfully, today, luck was on their side.”
The home collapsed in the fire, FDNY Chief of Department John Esposito said. Everyone in the building has been accounted for except for the estranged husband, identified by police as Anroop Parasaram, who may have died in the explosion.
Parasaram was intoxicated when he broke into the building, McIntosh said. Over the years, cops have been called to the basement apartment “multiple times” to quell domestic disputes between Parasaram and his wife, police said.
The estranged husband had three past expired orders of protection filed against him barring him from going near his wife and family, McIntosh said.
More than 300 firefighters, emergency medical technicians and paramedics arrived at the home, which was still burning as of 9 a.m., Esposito said.
Once the fire is out, the FDNY will begin debris removal to “look for anyone who might be reported missing,” he said.
Homes on both sides of the address were damaged, Esposito said, adding that the FDNY was working with the Red Cross to provide assistance to the 16 people left displaced by the explosion.
An exact cause of the explosion is under investigation, Esposito said.
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