A domestic violence suspect died in a massive house explosion that injured seven NYPD officers and displaced 25 residents in Queens Thursday morning. Dramatic bodycam footage captured the blast that threw officers off their feet as they approached the South Richmond Hill home.
Officers responded to a 911 call before 3 a.m. at a home on 130th Street after a family member reported that 50-year-old Anoop Parasram had forced entry through a basement window while intoxicated and armed with a knife. The caller warned that the house smelled like gas.
"Once in the apartment, the [suspect's] daughter and his two grandchildren manage to flee to safety," NYPD Assistant Chief Christopher McIntosh said at a news conference. The suspect had been "menacing and threatening" another victim with the knife before that person also escaped.
The explosion occurred just 15 minutes after the initial 911 call, as officers attempted to enter the residence with a key provided by one of the victims. "Our officers were at the front door of the residence, attempting to enter, when suddenly a massive, fiery explosion erupted," McIntosh said.
"The guy just set the house on fire, we've got an explosion," one officer can be heard saying in the released bodycam video. The blast shattered windows outward and launched multiple officers into the front gates of the residence.
Police recovered Parasram's body from the rubble after the five-alarm fire was extinguished. All seven injured officers remained in stable condition. Despite their injuries, officers immediately rushed in after the blast to evacuate residents, including several children from neighboring homes.
The incident reveals troubling patterns of escalating domestic violence. Parasram had three expired orders of protection against him, and police had responded to the residence multiple times previously. Security footage from a neighbor shows a person carrying two garbage bags filled with canisters of an unknown substance prior to the explosion.
The blast damaged multiple homes and forced the Red Cross to provide temporary housing assistance to 18 adults and seven children. New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani praised the first responders for their "extraordinary bravery" in the face of the dangerous situation.
The cause of the explosion remains under investigation, though the gas smell reported by the 911 caller and the suspect's apparent preparation suggest a deliberate act. The incident highlights the deadly risks officers face responding to domestic violence calls, which consistently rank among the most dangerous situations for law enforcement.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
