🔗 Share this article

Three police officers perished and at least 15 others were hurt in what appears to be intentional gas explosion at a country home in northern Italy.

Event Timeline

The detonation occurred as police and firefighters entered the property in the vicinity of the Verona region to execute an court-ordered eviction for three siblings aged in their 50s and 60s.

Each of the three victims who died belonged to the Carabinieri force.

Legal Proceedings

One male and one female got detained at the site and another man who fled subsequent to the explosion was found soon after. Each of them have been transported to the hospital.

The blast could be audible as far as 3 miles distant and images from the area showed the property left as a mass of wreckage.

“This moment calls for sorrow,” commented Interior Minister Minister Piantedosi, who mentioned that previous tries had been made to remove the brother and sister trio in the previous occasions.

Background and Motive

The leader of the region of Veneto, Luca Zaia, said the residence was subject to an eviction order due to debts accumulated by the property owners.

Conflict resolution experts had been dispatched to engage the brothers and sister who had barricaded themselves into the home. When the police reached the location just after 03:00 (01:00 GMT), investigators think a family member caused the explosion.

“When we entered the property, we faced an utterly insane act,” provincial police commander the police commander informed reporters.

A gas canister had been ignited, and the detonation directly hit our officers,” he explained.

Molotov cocktails were also found at the site, the interior minister confirmed.

Injuries and Destruction

The wounded by the blast consisted of 11 other members of the military police as well as three officers of national police and a emergency responder.

As stated by the local prosecutor, the farmhouse was in a poor condition and had was without power.

The official was convinced the blast had occurred on a level above the access point and stated to reporters it was a “deliberate and pre-planned murder”. Shortly before the incident, he mentioned personnel had “heard a whistle, probably the propane tanks being activated”.

Neighbor Statements

“We all knew the situation was dire,” local residents told Italian media, noting that the three had earlier warned to “blow themselves up” rather than leave the house.

“The incident exacted a ‘dreadful, extremely sad and dramatic price’.”

The Defense Minister Guido Crosetto joined other elected representatives in commemorating the three men who had been killed in the line of duty.