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Three police officers perished and more than a dozen people sustained injuries in what appears to be premeditated blast caused by gas at a country home in the northern part of Italy.

Sequence of Events

The blast was triggered as police and firefighters approached the residence in the vicinity of Verona to carry out an court-ordered eviction for a brother and sister trio in their late 50s and mid-60s.

All three victims who died were members of the Italian military police.

Legal Proceedings

A man and a woman were taken into custody at the site and one more individual who fled following the incident was apprehended not long after. Each of them have been admitted to medical facility.

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

“This moment calls for sorrow,” commented the Interior Minister Minister Piantedosi, who noted that efforts had been made to remove the three siblings in the earlier times.

Financial Context

The leader of the Veneto region, Luca Zaia, explained the farmhouse was facing an eviction order due to debts accumulated by the three owners.

Conflict resolution experts had been assigned to speak to the brothers and sister who had locked themselves into the property. When the Carabinieri came just after 03:00 (01:00 GMT), officials think a family member caused the explosion.

“When we entered the property, we faced an utterly insane act,” local police chief Claudio Papagno informed the media.

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

Molotov cocktails were also discovered at the residence, the Interior Minister stated.

Casualties and Damage

Injured individuals by the incident included eleven more officers of the police force as well as three officers of Italy's state police and a fire services member.

As stated by the local prosecutor, the building was in a poor condition and had no electricity.

The prosecutor thought the explosion had occurred on a level above the doorway and stated to journalists it was a “premeditated and voluntary homicide”. Just prior to the incident, he said members had “heard a whistle, probably the gas cylinders being activated”.

Community Reaction

“We all knew the situation was dire,” neighbors stated to local news, adding that the trio had in the past stated to “cause an explosion” rather than be evicted.

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

Defence Minister the Defence Minister united with other elected representatives in paying tribute to the three men who had been killed in the service of their country.