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A trio of officers lost their lives and more than a dozen others got wounded in an apparently premeditated gas explosion at a farmhouse in Italy's north.

How It Happened

The detonation occurred as law enforcement and fire personnel went into the house near the Verona region to execute an removal notice for a brother and sister trio in their late 50s and mid-60s.

Each of the three officers killed served in the Carabinieri military police.

Investigation Developments

A man and a woman were taken into custody at the scene and one more individual who escaped following the blast was found soon after. All three have been transported to the hospital.

The explosion could be noticed as far as 3 miles distant and footage from the area showed the building turned into a mass of wreckage.

“This is a time for grieving,” commented the Minister of the Interior Minister Piantedosi, who noted that efforts had been made to evict the three family members in the past.

Property Situation

The president of the region of Veneto, the regional head, stated the farmhouse was subject to an removal notice due to unpaid amounts incurred by the property owners.

Negotiators had been dispatched to engage the brothers and sister who had barricaded themselves into the property. When the police reached the location soon after 03:00 (01:00 GMT), officials suspect one of the residents set off the explosion.

“As we went inside, we encountered a completely deranged action,” local police chief the police commander stated to reporters.

A propane tank had been set off, and the explosion directly hit our members,” he explained.

Incendiary devices were also located at the site, the Interior Minister stated.

Impact Assessment

The wounded by the explosion consisted of 11 other members of the military police as well as a trio of personnel of the state police and a fire services member.

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

The prosecutor thought the detonation had taken place on a floor above the access point and informed reporters it was a “deliberate and pre-planned murder”. Moments before the explosion, he mentioned members had “heard a whistle, likely the gas canisters being turned on”.

Community Reaction

“We all knew the situation was dire,” neighbors informed Italian media, mentioning that the family members had previously threatened to “blow themselves up” rather than vacate the property.

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

Minister of Defence Guido Crosetto joined other political leaders in honoring the trio of personnel who had died in the performance of their duties.