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Three police officers were killed and more than a dozen people got wounded in a seemingly intentional detonation from gas at a farmhouse in the northern part of Italy.

Sequence of Events

The explosion occurred as law enforcement and fire personnel went into the property near the city of Verona to execute an eviction order for three siblings aged in their 50s and 60s.

Each of the three victims who died were members of the Carabinieri force.

Legal Proceedings

Two individuals got detained at the scene and another man who escaped subsequent to the explosion was apprehended soon after. All three have been admitted to medical facility.

The explosion could be audible some 5km (3 miles) away and images from the scene showed the building left as a mass of wreckage.

“This moment calls for sorrow,” said the Minister of the Interior the Interior Minister, who added that attempts had been made to displace the three siblings in the previous occasions.

Property Situation

The head of the region of Veneto, the regional head, explained the residence was subject to an eviction order due to unpaid amounts accumulated by the three owners.

Conflict resolution experts had been assigned to talk with the family members who had locked themselves into the property. When the officers arrived shortly after 03:00 (01:00 GMT), investigators think one of the siblings triggered the blast.

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

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

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

Impact Assessment

The wounded by the explosion included an additional 11 personnel of the police force as well as three officers of national police and a fire services member.

According to the prosecuting attorney, the property was in a derelict state and had no electricity.

He believed the detonation had taken place on a story above the access point and stated to the press it was a “deliberate and pre-planned murder”. Moments before the explosion, he revealed personnel had “noticed a hissing sound, likely the gas canisters being turned on”.

Community Reaction

“Everyone was aware the circumstances were severe,” neighbors told local news, adding 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’.”

Minister of Defence the Defence Minister joined other government officials in commemorating the three officers who had been killed in the service of their country.