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A trio of officers were killed and no fewer than 15 others got wounded in what appears to be deliberate detonation from gas at a country home in northern Italy.

Event Timeline

The blast occurred as officers and emergency crews entered the residence close to the city of Verona to enforce an eviction order for a brother and sister trio who were older adults.

All three victims who died were members of the Carabinieri military police.

Legal Proceedings

A man and a woman were taken into custody at the scene and another man who fled following the explosion was found not long after. All three have been transported to hospital.

The blast could be audible approximately 5 kilometers away and footage from the area showed the structure reduced to a pile of rubble.

“We are in a period of mourning,” commented the Minister of the Interior Matteo Piantedosi, who noted that previous tries had been made to evict the three siblings in the past.

Financial Context

The head of the Veneto area, the regional head, said the property was facing an eviction order due to financial obligations accumulated by the three owners.

Negotiators had been assigned to speak to the family members who had barricaded themselves into the house. When the officers arrived shortly after 03:00 (01:00 GMT), officials think one of the residents caused the blast.

“Upon entering the house, we were confronted with an act of absolute madness,” regional commander the police commander told news outlets.

A gas canister had been set off, and the detonation directly hit our members,” he said.

Incendiary devices were also located at the residence, the interior minister said.

Casualties and Damage

The wounded by the blast comprised an additional 11 personnel of the police force as well as three members of Italy's state police and a firefighter.

As stated by the local prosecutor, the farmhouse was in a dilapidated shape and had lacked electrical service.

The prosecutor was convinced the explosion had happened on a story above the entrance and told the press it was a “intentional and planned killing”. Moments before the explosion, he mentioned members had “heard a whistle, probably the gas canisters being turned on”.

Local Response

“We all knew the situation was dire,” local residents stated to reporters, noting that the trio had earlier warned to “detonate the property” rather than be evicted.

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

Defence Minister Guido Crosetto united with other political leaders in commemorating the three officers who had lost their lives in the performance of their duties.