🔗 Share this article

A trio of officers lost their lives and at least 15 additional individuals got wounded in what appears to be deliberate blast caused by gas at a rural property in the northern part of Italy.

Sequence of Events

The explosion took place as law enforcement and fire personnel entered the residence close to Verona to execute an court-ordered eviction for a brother and sister trio in their late 50s and mid-60s.

Each of the three officers killed were members of the Carabinieri military police.

Investigation Developments

One male and one female were taken into custody at the scene and one more individual who fled subsequent to the blast was apprehended soon after. Each of them have been admitted to the hospital.

The blast could be audible approximately 5 kilometers away and photographs from the location showed the property left as a pile of rubble.

“We are in a period of mourning,” commented the Interior Minister the Interior Minister, who mentioned that efforts had been made to evict the three family members in the previous occasions.

Financial Context

The leader of the region of Veneto, Luca Zaia, said the property was facing an eviction order due to unpaid amounts accumulated by the three owners.

Conflict resolution experts had been sent to talk with the family members who had barricaded themselves into the home. When the police came just after 03:00 (01:00 GMT), investigators believe a family member set off the blast.

“As we went inside, we encountered a completely deranged action,” provincial police commander Commander Papagno informed reporters.

A gas canister had been activated, and the explosion precisely impacted our officers,” he explained.

Molotov cocktails were also discovered at the property, the minister confirmed.

Casualties and Damage

Injured individuals by the explosion consisted of 11 other members of the police force as well as a trio of personnel of national police and a fire services member.

Based on information from the local prosecutor, the property was in a derelict state and had no electricity.

He was convinced the explosion had taken place on a level above the entrance and informed reporters it was a “premeditated and voluntary homicide”. Moments before the blast, he mentioned officers had “noticed a hissing sound, probably the gas canisters being turned on”.

Community Reaction

“We all knew the situation was dire,” local residents told local news, adding that the family members had in the past stated to “cause an explosion” rather than leave the house.

“The blast resulted in a ‘horrific, deeply distressing and tragic cost’.”

Minister of Defence the Defence Minister stood alongside other elected representatives in commemorating the three men who had lost their lives in the service of their country.