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Three police officers were killed and more than a dozen additional individuals got wounded in a seemingly deliberate blast caused by gas at a country home in northern Italy.

Event Timeline

The explosion was triggered as law enforcement and fire personnel entered the residence in the vicinity of the city of Verona to enforce an eviction order for a brother and sister trio aged in their 50s and 60s.

Each of the three victims who died belonged to the Carabinieri military police.

Arrests and Aftermath

One male and one female were taken into custody at the scene and another man who escaped after the incident was found not long after. The trio have been taken to medical facility.

The blast could be audible some 5km (3 miles) away and images from the area showed the building turned into a heap of debris.

“We are in a period of mourning,” commented Interior Minister the Interior Minister, who mentioned that efforts had been made to remove the three siblings in the earlier times.

Background and Motive

The leader of the Veneto area, Luca Zaia, said the residence was facing an court order due to debts accumulated by the three owners.

Conflict resolution experts had been dispatched to speak to the siblings who had locked themselves into the house. When the Carabinieri came soon after 03:00 (01:00 GMT), authorities think one of the siblings caused the blast.

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

A gas canister had been set off, and the blast precisely impacted our personnel,” he explained.

Incendiary devices were also discovered at the property, the minister said.

Impact Assessment

Those injured by the explosion included an additional 11 personnel of the Carabinieri as well as three members of the state police and a fire services member.

As stated by the Verona prosecutor, the property was in a poor condition and had no electricity.

The prosecutor was convinced the blast had occurred on a floor above the doorway and told the press it was a “deliberate and pre-planned murder”. Shortly before the blast, he said personnel had “heard a whistle, probably the gas canisters being turned on”.

Community Reaction

“We all knew the situation was dire,” local residents informed reporters, mentioning that the family members had in the past stated to “blow themselves up” rather than leave the house.

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

Defence Minister Minister Crosetto joined other political leaders in honoring the three men who had lost their lives in the service of their country.