Police said they discovered suspicious chemicals while searching a home in Herndon, Virginia, leading authorities to evacuate nearly two dozen homes in the area Friday.
Herndon police said they went to a home in the 200 block of Herndon Station Square to execute a search warrant about 11:30 a.m. Friday on behalf of a police department in Pennsylvania. The man who lives at the home, Steven Timothy Kyle, 44, was wanted by the Central Bucks Regional Police Department for criminal mischief, stalking and three counts of harassment.
While searching for items related to the stalking and harassment charges, Herndon police said they found chemicals and other evidence that alarmed them enough to call in the Fairfax County bomb squad and the ATF.
“Based on their training, they knew they had to call somebody else,” Herndon Police Chief Steve Pihonak said.
Kyle was taken into custody without incident.
Residents of about 20 nearby townhouses were evacuated. There’s no timeframe yet on when they can return.
“It is an evolving situation. We don’t have a lot of details about what was found in the house at this point, but we do thank our citizens for being patient with us,” Pihonak said about 5 p.m. Friday. “This is going to be a slow, meticulous process that’s going to take several hours, probably into the night hours, anywhere from 10 or more hours to complete this.”
A hazmat evacuation is in effect in Herndon, Virginia after police issued a search and arrest warrant. Herndon Police Captain Steve Pihonak spoke to News4 about the developing story.
Some areas of the W&OD trail and some surrounding streets were also shut down around Herndon Station Square.
Pihonak said the safety of the community is their priority.
Police couldn’t comment on what the chemicals are or what they could be used for. However, the chemicals they found were not related to the charges in Pennsylvania, they said.
Kyle was the only resident in the home.
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(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by PostX News and is published from a syndicated feed.)
