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Three police officers were killed and more than a dozen people got wounded in what appears to be premeditated blast caused by gas at a country home in the northern part of Italy.

Event Timeline

The explosion was triggered as police and firefighters entered the residence in the vicinity of the city of Verona to enforce an eviction order for two brothers and a sister 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 location and one more individual who escaped after the incident was found shortly later. The trio have been taken to the hospital.

The explosion could be heard some 5km (3 miles) away and photographs from the location showed the structure turned into a pile of rubble.

“We are in a period of mourning,” said the Interior Minister the Interior Minister, who noted that attempts had been made to evict the brother and sister trio in the past.

Background and Motive

The leader of the Veneto area, Luca Zaia, explained the property was subject to an court order due to debts accumulated by the three owners.

Conflict resolution experts had been sent to speak to the brothers and sister who had barricaded themselves into the home. When the officers arrived just after 03:00 (01:00 GMT), officials suspect a family member triggered the blast.

“Upon entering the house, we were confronted with an act of absolute madness,” provincial police commander Commander Papagno informed the media.

“A gas cylinder had been set off, and the blast immediately struck our officers,” he said.

Petrol bombs were also discovered at the residence, the minister stated.

Injuries and Destruction

Injured individuals by the incident consisted of eleven more officers of the police force as well as three members of the state police and a emergency responder.

As stated by the Verona prosecutor, the property was in a dilapidated shape and had was without power.

The prosecutor believed the detonation had occurred on a story above the access point and stated to the press it was a “premeditated and voluntary homicide”. Shortly before the blast, he mentioned officers had “detected a whistling noise, presumably the gas canisters being activated”.

Community Reaction

“We all knew the situation was dire,” neighbors stated to Italian media, mentioning that the family members had in the past stated to “cause an explosion” rather than vacate the property.

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

The Defense Minister the Defence Minister united with other political leaders in honoring the trio of personnel who had been killed in the service of their country.