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Three members of law enforcement lost their lives and more than a dozen additional individuals got wounded in an apparently intentional detonation from gas at a country home in northern Italy.

Event Timeline

The blast took place as officers and emergency crews went into the property in the vicinity of Verona to enforce an removal notice for two brothers and a sister who were older adults.

All three deceased individuals served in the Carabinieri military police.

Arrests and Aftermath

One male and one female were arrested at the location and another man who escaped subsequent to the blast was found shortly later. Each of them have been admitted to medical facility.

The explosion could be heard some 5km (3 miles) away and images from the scene revealed the structure reduced to a mass of wreckage.

“This moment calls for sorrow,” stated the Minister of the Interior the Interior Minister, who added that previous tries had been made to evict the three siblings in the past.

Background and Motive

The president of the Veneto area, President Zaia, said the property was under an eviction order due to unpaid amounts accrued by the three owners.

Negotiators had been assigned to speak to the brothers and sister who had locked themselves into the house. When the police came soon after 03:00 (01:00 GMT), authorities think one of the residents triggered the detonation.

“As we went inside, we encountered a completely deranged action,” provincial police commander the police commander informed news outlets.

A propane tank had been ignited, and the blast precisely impacted our members,” he added.

Petrol bombs were also found at the property, the Interior Minister stated.

Impact Assessment

The wounded by the explosion comprised an additional 11 personnel of the military police as well as a trio of personnel of the state police and a fire services member.

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

He thought the explosion had happened on a level above the entrance and told the press it was a “deliberate and pre-planned murder”. Just prior to the blast, he revealed members had “noticed a hissing sound, presumably the gas canisters being activated”.

Community Reaction

“We all knew the situation was dire,” local residents stated to local news, noting that the trio had previously threatened to “cause an explosion” rather than leave the house.

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

The Defense Minister Minister Crosetto stood alongside other political leaders in honoring the three men who had been killed in the performance of their duties.