🔗 Share this article

Three members of law enforcement perished and more than a dozen additional individuals sustained injuries in what appears to be deliberate detonation from gas at a rural property in the northern part of Italy.

Event Timeline

The detonation took place as officers and emergency crews approached the residence near Verona to enforce an eviction order for two brothers and a sister in their late 50s and mid-60s.

All three victims who died were members of the Carabinieri force.

Legal Proceedings

One male and one female got detained at the site and one more individual who fled following the blast was found soon after. All three have been taken to medical facility.

The explosion could be noticed some 5km (3 miles) away and photographs from the location revealed the structure left as a mass of wreckage.

“This moment calls for sorrow,” commented the Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi, who noted that attempts had been made to remove the three family members in the previous occasions.

Financial Context

The president of the Veneto region, President Zaia, explained the residence was facing an eviction order due to financial obligations accrued by the property owners.

Negotiators had been assigned to talk with the brothers and sister who had barricaded themselves into the house. When the police came shortly after 03:00 (01:00 GMT), investigators think one of the residents caused the detonation.

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

A gas canister had been activated, and the blast immediately struck our personnel,” he explained.

Petrol bombs were also discovered at the site, the interior minister said.

Casualties and Damage

The wounded by the explosion consisted of an additional 11 personnel of the police force as well as three officers of the state police and a firefighter.

As stated by the local prosecutor, the farmhouse was in a poor condition and had was without power.

The prosecutor thought the explosion had taken place on a story above the access point and told reporters it was a “deliberate and pre-planned murder”. Shortly before the incident, he revealed officers had “detected a whistling noise, likely the propane tanks being turned on”.

Neighbor Statements

“Everyone was aware the circumstances were severe,” neighbors stated to reporters, adding that the family members had in the past stated to “blow themselves up” rather than leave the house.

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

The Defense Minister the Defence Minister joined other political leaders in commemorating the trio of personnel who had lost their lives in the performance of their duties.