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Three members of law enforcement were killed and at least 15 others got wounded in a seemingly deliberate blast caused by gas at a farmhouse in the northern part of Italy.

Sequence of Events

The explosion occurred as officers and emergency crews entered the house close to the city of Verona to carry out an court-ordered eviction for two brothers and a sister aged in their 50s and 60s.

The three officers killed served in the Carabinieri military police.

Arrests and Aftermath

A man and a woman were arrested at the site and one more individual who fled after the incident was found not long after. All three have been transported to medical facility.

The detonation could be audible approximately 5 kilometers away and footage from the location showed the property reduced to a mass of wreckage.

“This is a time for grieving,” commented the Interior Minister the Interior Minister, who noted that efforts had been made to evict the brother and sister trio in the previous occasions.

Property Situation

The head of the Veneto region, President Zaia, explained the residence was subject to an removal notice due to financial obligations incurred by the three owners.

Negotiators had been dispatched to engage the family members who had barricaded themselves into the house. When the officers came soon after 03:00 (01:00 GMT), officials think one of the residents set off the detonation.

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

A gas canister had been activated, and the explosion precisely impacted our personnel,” he said.

Incendiary devices were also found at the residence, the Interior Minister confirmed.

Casualties and Damage

Those injured by the incident included 11 other members of the military police as well as a trio of personnel of national police and a firefighter.

According to the prosecuting attorney, the property was in a derelict state and had was without power.

He believed the blast had happened on a floor above the doorway and informed journalists it was a “premeditated and voluntary homicide”. Shortly before the incident, he revealed personnel had “detected a whistling noise, probably the gas canisters being turned on”.

Neighbor Statements

“We all knew the situation was dire,” nearby inhabitants told Italian media, noting that the family members had in the past stated to “detonate the property” rather than leave the house.

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

The Defense Minister Guido Crosetto joined other government officials in honoring the three officers who had lost their lives in the performance of their duties.