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Three police officers were killed and at least 15 people got wounded in a seemingly intentional blast caused by gas at a rural property in the northern part of Italy.

Event Timeline

The detonation occurred as police and firefighters approached the house close to Verona to execute an removal notice for two brothers and a sister aged in their 50s and 60s.

The three deceased individuals served in the Italian military police.

Investigation Developments

A man and a woman were arrested at the site and a third person who fled subsequent to the incident was found not long after. The trio have been transported to the hospital.

The blast could be audible some 5km (3 miles) away and images from the scene displayed the building reduced to a heap of debris.

“This is a time for grieving,” commented the Minister of the Interior Minister Piantedosi, who mentioned that attempts had been made to evict the brother and sister trio in the previous occasions.

Financial Context

The leader of the Veneto area, President Zaia, explained the residence was under an removal notice due to financial obligations accrued by the three owners.

Mediators had been sent to talk with the family members who had locked themselves into the house. When the police arrived soon after 03:00 (01:00 GMT), officials think one of the siblings set off the detonation.

“As we went inside, we encountered a completely deranged action,” regional commander Claudio Papagno informed the media.

A gas canister had been set off, and the explosion precisely impacted our personnel,” he said.

Molotov cocktails were also found at the property, the interior minister confirmed.

Casualties and Damage

Injured individuals by the blast included an additional 11 personnel of the military police as well as three members of national police and a emergency responder.

As stated by the Verona prosecutor, the property was in a derelict state and had was without power.

The prosecutor thought the blast had taken place on a floor above the doorway and stated to journalists it was a “deliberate and pre-planned murder”. Shortly before the incident, he said members had “heard a whistle, probably the gas cylinders being activated”.

Neighbor Statements

“Everyone was aware the circumstances were severe,” neighbors told reporters, mentioning that the family members had previously threatened to “detonate the property” rather than vacate the property.

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

Minister of Defence the Defence Minister joined other elected representatives in commemorating the three men who had lost their lives in the line of duty.