🔗 Share this article Explosion Takes Three Law Enforcement Officers While Executing Property Removal Operation in Italy All three victimized officers served the military police A trio of officers perished and more than a dozen people were hurt in a seemingly intentional gas explosion at a country home in northern Italy. How It Happened The detonation took place as law enforcement and fire personnel approached the house near the city of Verona to execute an court-ordered eviction for two brothers and a sister in their late 50s and mid-60s. All three deceased individuals were members of the Carabinieri force. Arrests and Aftermath One male and one female were arrested at the scene and a third person who fled after the blast was apprehended soon after. Each of them have been admitted to the hospital. The detonation could be noticed approximately 5 kilometers away and photographs from the area showed the property reduced to a mass of wreckage. “This is a time for grieving,” stated the Interior Minister Minister Piantedosi, who noted that previous tries had been made to remove the three family members in the past. Property Situation The leader of the Veneto region, President Zaia, explained the property was facing an eviction order due to unpaid amounts incurred by the three owners. Conflict resolution experts had been assigned to talk with the family members who had barricaded themselves into the home. When the police reached the location just after 03:00 (01:00 GMT), officials think a family member set off the blast. “As we went inside, we encountered a completely deranged action,” regional commander Commander Papagno informed the media. “A gas cylinder had been set off, and the blast directly hit our members,” he explained. Molotov cocktails were also located at the property, the interior minister stated. Casualties and Damage The wounded by the explosion consisted of an additional 11 personnel of the police force as well as three members of Italy's state police and a emergency responder. According to the Verona prosecutor, the farmhouse was in a poor condition and had lacked electrical service. The official believed the blast had occurred on a level above the access point and told journalists it was a “premeditated and voluntary homicide”. Shortly before the blast, he said members had “detected a whistling noise, presumably the gas canisters being activated”. Community Reaction “All of us understood the scenario was critical,” nearby inhabitants informed reporters, adding that the trio had in the past stated to “detonate the property” rather than be evicted. “The explosion had left a ‘terrible, very painful and dramatic toll’.” Minister of Defence Guido Crosetto joined other government officials in commemorating the three officers who had died in the service of their country.