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Three members of law enforcement were killed and more than a dozen additional individuals were hurt in an apparently intentional gas explosion at a country home in the northern part of Italy.

How It Happened

The detonation was triggered as law enforcement and fire personnel went into the house near the Verona region to enforce an removal notice for two brothers and a sister who were older adults.

All three officers killed served in the Carabinieri military police.

Arrests and Aftermath

Two individuals were arrested at the site and one more individual who ran away after the blast was found not long after. Each of them have been taken to the hospital.

The detonation could be noticed approximately 5 kilometers away and images from the scene displayed the property left as a mass of wreckage.

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

Property Situation

The president of the Veneto area, President Zaia, said the property was subject to an eviction order due to financial obligations accrued by the siblings.

Negotiators had been sent to engage the family members who had locked themselves into the home. When the officers reached the location just after 03:00 (01:00 GMT), investigators suspect one of the residents caused the blast.

“When we entered the property, we faced an utterly insane act,” local police chief Claudio Papagno informed news outlets.

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

Petrol bombs were also located at the site, the Interior Minister confirmed.

Injuries and Destruction

The wounded by the blast comprised 11 other members of the Carabinieri as well as three members of national police and a emergency responder.

According to the Verona prosecutor, the property was in a derelict state and had lacked electrical service.

He was convinced the blast had happened on a story above the entrance and told the press it was a “premeditated and voluntary homicide”. Moments before the incident, he mentioned members had “noticed a hissing sound, likely the gas cylinders being activated”.

Local Response

“We all knew the situation was dire,” local residents stated to Italian media, noting that the trio had earlier warned to “cause an explosion” rather than leave the house.

“The explosion had left a ‘terrible, very painful and dramatic toll’.”

Defence Minister Guido Crosetto joined other political leaders in commemorating the trio of personnel who had been killed in the service of their country.