🔗 Share this article

Three members of law enforcement were killed and at least 15 additional individuals were hurt in what appears to be premeditated blast caused by gas at a country home in Italy's north.

Event Timeline

The blast took place as officers and emergency crews approached the house near the city of Verona to enforce an removal notice for two brothers and a sister aged in their 50s and 60s.

The three officers killed were members of the Carabinieri force.

Legal Proceedings

Two individuals were arrested at the site and a third person who escaped following the blast was located shortly later. Each of them have been admitted to the hospital.

The blast could be heard some 5km (3 miles) away and footage from the scene showed the structure left as a mass of wreckage.

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

Background and Motive

The leader of the Veneto area, the regional head, stated the farmhouse was facing an removal notice due to debts accumulated by the siblings.

Negotiators had been assigned to talk with the siblings who had barricaded themselves into the house. When the police reached the location just after 03:00 (01:00 GMT), investigators think a family member triggered the blast.

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

“A gas cylinder had been set off, and the detonation directly hit our members,” he explained.

Petrol bombs were also found at the site, the interior minister confirmed.

Casualties and Damage

Those injured by the explosion included eleven more officers of the military police as well as a trio of personnel of the state police and a emergency responder.

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

The prosecutor believed the blast had happened on a story above the access point and told journalists it was a “deliberate and pre-planned murder”. Shortly before the incident, he said members had “detected a whistling noise, probably the gas cylinders being turned on”.

Neighbor Statements

“Everyone was aware the circumstances were severe,” neighbors told reporters, mentioning that the family members had previously threatened to “cause an explosion” rather than leave the house.

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

Minister of Defence Minister Crosetto united with other elected representatives in commemorating the trio of personnel who had died in the line of duty.