Montgomery County

Condo Owner's Suicide Caused Gaithersburg Building Explosion: Police

Montgomery County police say Juan Pablo Marshall Quizon recently bought the condo at the Potomac Oaks complex where the explosion happened

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An explosion that ripped through two condo buildings in Gaithersburg, Maryland, and left at least 10 people injured was the act of a man who died by suicide, Montgomery County police said Friday.

A medical examiner identified a body search crews found in the rubble on Thursday as Juan Pablo Marshall Quizon, a man who recently purchased a condo at the Potomac Oaks complex on Quince Orchard Boulevard, Montgomery County Police Chief Marcus Jones said in a news conference Friday evening.

Marshall Quizon's manner of death was suicide and the cause of his death was smoke inhalation and burns, the medical examiner ruled.

Jones said evidence, including a suicide note police found, supports the ruling that Marshall Quizon died by suicide. Police spoke to several people close to him and "know for a fact that he made statements that were indicative of intentions of suicide," Jones said.

Someone reported Marshall Quizon missing to Montgomery County police on Wednesday, but they didn't know he owned a condo at Potomac Oaks, Jones said. Land records showed that Marshall Quizon purchased unit #2 at the 826 building in August, according to Jones.

Jones said police don't believe Marshall Quizon intentionally wanted to harm other people, but "if he was still living he would be criminally culpable for injuries and property damage."

Crews found a body a day after an explosion that partially destroyed two buildings in Gaithersburg. Police said they are now opening a criminal investigation into the explosion. News4's Darcy Spencer reports.

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Montgomery County Fire Chief Scott Goldstein said a K9 that detects accelerant alerted on items in the rubble Friday and investigators are trying to determine if Marshall Quizon ignited accelerant inside the condo, which could have led to the explosion and fire.

Ten people went to hospitals, including four children, after the blast. Two adults had traumatic injuries. Montgomery County Fire Chief Scott Goldstein said Friday that all 10 of the injured have since been released from the hospital.

Investigators previously said they were focusing on a 911 call made around the time of the explosion. According to multiple sources, that call was from a woman who was frantic that her son was suicidal and she could not locate him.

A K9 detected Marshall Quizon's remains while it was on top of a pile debris at the site of the explosion Thursday morning, officials said.

Crews with heavy equipment pulled away at the massive debris pile piece by piece.

Residents of some of the damaged units at Potomac Oaks were able to go back in Thursday to retrieve a few of their belongings.

"It was just frightening. … I was absolutely terrified," resident Michelle Conklin-Kusel said.

Conklin-Kusel was home when the blast happened and escaped wearing her pajamas and slippers.

"I don’t know if there was any water damage because they rushed us out. They were like, 'You gotta go now.'
You know, I was trying to gather things together - 'You have to leave right this minute.' I still don’t know where my car is," she said.

An explosion at a condo building injured at least 10 people in Gaithersburg, Maryland, Wednesday morning. News4’s Juliana Valencia spoke with residents and witnesses.

Investigators tried to pinpoint where exactly the blast happened as they continued their search for the cause.

"When we know what happened here then we can determine what else we might need to do," Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich said.

Video and images from the scene Wednesday showed a massive wall of orange flames and a gaping hole after the blast leveled a portion of a garden-style apartment building. Smoke choked the gap between two jagged edges of the building that apparently was the site of the blast.

A 50-to-75-foot field of debris and rubble covered the grass outside the building. Large chunks of bricks and cinderblocks were visible.

"Woke up to an explosion out front," said a man who discovered that a steel door had been blown into his living room.

The force of the explosion was so powerful that two people in the area told News4 their bodies were physically shaken by the blast.

Maintenance workers rescued two people from an apartment using ladders before firefighters arrived, Goldstein said. Excavation work being done outside the building is not believed to be related to the explosion.

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The fire and explosion on Quince Orchard Boulevard went to two alarms. (Photo: @brandonsavage)

Fire and rescue crews worked with Washington Gas to shut off the gas. Washington Gas released a statement Wednesday afternoon saying technicians surveyed the scene and found no issues.

In a statement late Wednesday morning, Washington Gas officials said they were "aware of the incident this morning in Montgomery County, Maryland. Our personnel are responding to assist the fire department on the scene. As always, the safety of our customers and community is our top priority. We are supporting the active response to the incident and do not have further details to share at this time."

After first responders arrived, some residents told them they had smelled gas earlier in the morning.

"The smell of gas this morning had been reported to our investigators," Goldstein said, but he said 911 staff had not received a call before the explosion about the odor of gas. However, it was not yet known whether anyone might have contacted Washington Gas, any other agencies or building management.

Previously, a possible gas leak in one of the buildings was reported Sept. 22, according to the fire department. Officials are reviewing that event for more information.

Anyone who smells gas at any time should immediately call 911, Goldstein said.

Potomac Oaks resident Traci DiMartini was at work in the District when friends suddenly started calling her phone Wednesday morning, but it wasn’t until the fire department rang that she learned her home of 19 years was gone.

DiMartini, a federal worker who was giving a presentation at the time of the blast, said fire officials were called to account for residents. Soon after, she said she spoke with her downstairs neighbor, who was able to escape.

An explosion and fire destroyed multiple units at a Gaithersburg condo complex and sent 10 people to the hospital. Chopper4's Brad Freitas reports from above the scene.

“She had just gotten out, and I think she was in shock, too,” DiMartini said.

DiMartini spoke with News4 as she raced home to see if her cat, Rocky, somehow survived the explosion. Neighbors spotted 3-year-old Rocky in the neighborhood, and she's now safe and sound.

DiMartini told News4 the neighbor across the hallway from her unit was renovating their condo, though it’s as of yet unclear whether that was connected to the explosion. Another neighbor, who also lost her home but asked News4 to not be identified, also said the unit across from DiMartini was being renovated by new owners.

DiMartini grew emotional as she spoke of raising her daughter, who is away at college, in her longtime Gaithersburg condo.

“It’s the only home she’s ever known,” she said.

The neighbor who asked to not be identified told News4 she was dropping off her children at school when a relative called to say her unit was burning.

The woman quickly rushed home and found her top floor condo “halfway still hanging there,” but she said the roof was gone. Her family had lived there for more than a decade, she said.

Donations for affected residents are being collected by Montgomery Housing Partners.  

This is at least the third apartment building explosion in Montgomery County in recent years. In 2016, a massive natural gas explosion at the Flower Branch apartments in Silver Spring killed seven people. Earlier this year, an explosion at another building in Silver Spring injured 14 people after a worker accidentally cut a gas line.

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