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Three police officers lost their lives and more than a dozen additional individuals sustained injuries in an apparently premeditated blast caused by gas at a rural property in Italy's north.

Sequence of Events

The detonation occurred as officers and emergency crews went into the residence near the Verona region to carry out an eviction order for a brother and sister trio in their late 50s and mid-60s.

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

Arrests and Aftermath

One male and one female were taken into custody at the site and a third person who ran away after the explosion was apprehended not long after. The trio have been taken to the hospital.

The explosion could be noticed approximately 5 kilometers away and photographs from the scene displayed the property left as a mass of wreckage.

“We are in a period of mourning,” said the Minister of the Interior Minister Piantedosi, who added that attempts had been made to evict the three family members in the earlier times.

Background and Motive

The head of the region of Veneto, the regional head, stated the property was subject to an removal notice due to unpaid amounts accumulated by the siblings.

Mediators had been assigned to speak to the family members who had locked themselves into the property. When the officers reached the location just after 03:00 (01:00 GMT), investigators think one of the siblings triggered the explosion.

“Upon entering the house, we were confronted with an act of absolute madness,” regional commander Claudio Papagno told news outlets.

“A gas cylinder had been activated, and the blast directly hit our personnel,” he said.

Molotov cocktails were also located at the property, the Interior Minister stated.

Impact Assessment

Injured individuals by the explosion comprised eleven more officers of the Carabinieri as well as three officers of the state police and a firefighter.

Based on information from the prosecuting attorney, the farmhouse was in a poor condition and had lacked electrical service.

The prosecutor thought the detonation had occurred on a floor above the access point and told journalists it was a “deliberate and pre-planned murder”. Shortly before the blast, he said officers had “noticed a hissing sound, presumably the gas cylinders being activated”.

Community Reaction

“Everyone was aware the circumstances were severe,” neighbors stated to reporters, noting that the family members had previously threatened to “blow themselves up” rather than vacate the property.

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

The Defense Minister the Defence Minister joined other political leaders in paying tribute to the trio of personnel who had died in the line of duty.