🔗 Share this article

Three police officers lost their lives and more than a dozen additional individuals sustained injuries in a seemingly deliberate blast caused by gas at a rural property in the northern part of Italy.

How It Happened

The detonation occurred as law enforcement and fire personnel approached the property in the vicinity of Verona to carry out an removal notice for three siblings who were older adults.

All three deceased individuals served in the Italian military police.

Arrests and Aftermath

One male and one female were arrested at the site and one more individual who escaped following the explosion was located shortly later. All three have been taken to the hospital.

The explosion could be heard as far as 3 miles distant and images from the location displayed the property turned into a pile of rubble.

“We are in a period of mourning,” said Interior Minister the Interior Minister, who mentioned that efforts had been made to evict the three siblings in the previous occasions.

Financial Context

The president of the Veneto region, the regional head, said the property was facing an removal notice due to unpaid amounts accrued by the siblings.

Mediators had been dispatched to engage the brothers and sister who had barricaded themselves into the property. When the Carabinieri arrived shortly after 03:00 (01:00 GMT), investigators believe one of the siblings triggered the blast.

“Upon entering the house, we were confronted with an act of absolute madness,” local police chief Claudio Papagno informed the media.

“A gas cylinder had been ignited, and the detonation precisely impacted our personnel,” he added.

Incendiary devices were also discovered at the residence, the interior minister stated.

Casualties and Damage

Injured individuals by the incident comprised an additional 11 personnel of the military police as well as a trio of personnel of the state police and a fire services member.

According to the local prosecutor, the property was in a derelict state and had no electricity.

He was convinced the explosion had occurred on a level above the access point and told journalists it was a “intentional and planned killing”. Just prior to the blast, he mentioned members had “noticed a hissing sound, likely the propane tanks being opened”.

Community Reaction

“All of us understood the scenario was critical,” nearby inhabitants informed local news, adding that the three had previously threatened to “cause an explosion” rather than vacate the property.

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

Minister of Defence Minister Crosetto joined other political leaders in paying tribute to the trio of personnel who had died in the performance of their duties.