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Three police officers were killed and no fewer than 15 additional individuals got wounded in a seemingly intentional detonation from gas at a farmhouse in Italy's north.

Event Timeline

The detonation occurred as officers and emergency crews went into the residence close to the city of Verona to enforce an removal notice for three siblings in their late 50s and mid-60s.

All three officers killed were members of the Carabinieri military police.

Investigation Developments

Two individuals were arrested at the scene and a third person who fled subsequent to the explosion was found not long after. Each of them have been admitted to hospital.

The blast could be noticed approximately 5 kilometers away and photographs from the area displayed the property left as a heap of debris.

“This moment calls for sorrow,” stated the Minister of the Interior the Interior Minister, who added that previous tries had been made to evict the three siblings in the earlier times.

Financial Context

The leader of the Veneto area, Luca Zaia, said the farmhouse was facing an court order due to unpaid amounts accrued by the property owners.

Mediators had been assigned to speak to the family members who had barricaded themselves into the home. When the Carabinieri arrived shortly after 03:00 (01:00 GMT), authorities suspect one of the siblings set off the detonation.

“As we went inside, we encountered a completely deranged action,” local police chief Commander Papagno informed news outlets.

A gas canister had been activated, and the blast directly hit our officers,” he said.

Incendiary devices were also discovered at the residence, the Interior Minister said.

Casualties and Damage

Those injured by the incident included eleven more officers of the Carabinieri as well as three members of the state police and a emergency responder.

According to the Verona prosecutor, the farmhouse was in a dilapidated shape and had was without power.

The prosecutor was convinced the detonation had happened on a story above the doorway and told the press it was a “deliberate and pre-planned murder”. Shortly before the blast, he revealed members had “heard a whistle, probably the gas cylinders being turned on”.

Local Response

“We all knew the situation was dire,” neighbors told reporters, adding that the trio had earlier warned to “cause an explosion” rather than leave the house.

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

Minister of Defence Minister Crosetto joined other political leaders in honoring the three officers who had lost their lives in the service of their country.