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A trio of officers lost their lives and more than a dozen others were hurt in what appears to be deliberate gas explosion at a farmhouse in the northern part of Italy.

Sequence of Events

The explosion took place as law enforcement and fire personnel approached the residence close to Verona to execute an court-ordered eviction for three siblings who were older adults.

The three officers killed served in the Carabinieri force.

Legal Proceedings

A man and a woman were taken into custody at the scene and another man who ran away following the explosion was apprehended not long after. The trio have been admitted to the hospital.

The detonation could be noticed some 5km (3 miles) away and images from the area showed the structure left as a mass of wreckage.

“This is a time for grieving,” stated Interior Minister the Interior Minister, who mentioned that attempts had been made to displace the three family members in the previous occasions.

Background and Motive

The president of the Veneto area, Luca Zaia, explained the farmhouse was subject to an court order due to financial obligations accrued by the siblings.

Conflict resolution experts had been dispatched to engage the brothers and sister who had secured themselves into the home. When the officers reached the location shortly after 03:00 (01:00 GMT), officials suspect a family member set off the explosion.

“When we entered the property, we faced an utterly insane act,” provincial police commander Claudio Papagno told reporters.

“A gas cylinder had been activated, and the detonation immediately struck our officers,” he said.

Petrol bombs were also located at the residence, the Interior Minister stated.

Impact Assessment

Injured individuals by the explosion consisted of 11 other members of the Carabinieri as well as three members of national police and a firefighter.

As stated by the prosecuting attorney, the farmhouse was in a dilapidated shape and had no electricity.

He believed the explosion had happened on a story above the doorway and informed reporters it was a “premeditated and voluntary homicide”. Moments before the incident, he mentioned personnel had “noticed a hissing sound, probably the gas cylinders being opened”.

Neighbor Statements

“We all knew the situation was dire,” local residents stated to local news, adding that the trio had in the past stated to “blow themselves up” rather than be evicted.

“The incident exacted a ‘dreadful, extremely sad and dramatic price’.”

The Defense Minister the Defence Minister stood alongside other political leaders in commemorating the three officers who had died in the line of duty.