🔗 Share this article

Three police officers perished and more than a dozen others got wounded in an apparently intentional detonation from gas at a country home in the northern part of Italy.

Event Timeline

The explosion took place as law enforcement and fire personnel entered the residence in the vicinity of Verona to execute an removal notice for three siblings who were older adults.

The three deceased individuals were members of the Italian military police.

Investigation Developments

One male and one female were taken into custody at the site and a third person who ran away after the explosion was found not long after. Each of them have been transported to hospital.

The explosion could be audible as far as 3 miles distant and images from the location displayed the building left as a pile of rubble.

“We are in a period of mourning,” stated Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi, who noted that previous tries had been made to remove the three family members in the earlier times.

Background and Motive

The head of the Veneto area, the regional head, explained the farmhouse was facing an eviction order due to financial obligations accrued by the three owners.

Negotiators had been sent to engage the siblings who had barricaded themselves into the home. When the police came shortly after 03:00 (01:00 GMT), investigators believe one of the residents caused the explosion.

“When we entered the property, we faced an utterly insane act,” local police chief Claudio Papagno stated to the media.

A gas canister had been ignited, and the explosion precisely impacted our officers,” he explained.

Petrol bombs were also located at the site, the minister confirmed.

Injuries and Destruction

The wounded by the blast consisted of 11 other members of the military police as well as a trio of personnel of national police and a firefighter.

As stated by the local prosecutor, the building was in a dilapidated shape and had lacked electrical service.

The official was convinced the blast had happened on a floor above the doorway and informed journalists it was a “intentional and planned killing”. Moments before the explosion, he revealed personnel had “noticed a hissing sound, probably the gas cylinders being opened”.

Neighbor Statements

“We all knew the situation was dire,” nearby inhabitants informed local news, mentioning that the three had in the past stated to “blow themselves up” rather than vacate the property.

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

Defence Minister Minister Crosetto stood alongside other political leaders in commemorating the trio of personnel who had been killed in the line of duty.