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Three members of law enforcement were killed and at least 15 additional individuals were hurt in a seemingly deliberate detonation from gas at a farmhouse in Italy's north.

Sequence of Events

The detonation occurred as law enforcement and fire personnel entered the residence in the vicinity of the Verona region to enforce an removal notice for a brother and sister trio who were older adults.

Each of the three victims who died served in the Carabinieri military police.

Legal Proceedings

One male and one female were taken into custody at the scene and one more individual who ran away after the blast was found soon after. Each of them have been admitted to hospital.

The explosion could be noticed some 5km (3 miles) away and footage from the scene revealed the property left as a pile of rubble.

“We are in a period of mourning,” stated Interior Minister the Interior Minister, who noted that attempts had been made to evict the brother and sister trio in the previous occasions.

Financial Context

The president of the Veneto area, President Zaia, stated the farmhouse was subject to an eviction order due to unpaid amounts accumulated by the three owners.

Conflict resolution experts had been assigned to speak to the brothers and sister who had secured themselves into the home. When the officers arrived soon after 03:00 (01:00 GMT), investigators think one of the residents set off the blast.

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

“A gas cylinder had been set off, and the explosion precisely impacted our officers,” he said.

Incendiary devices were also found at the site, the minister said.

Casualties and Damage

Those injured by the incident comprised an additional 11 personnel of the police force as well as a trio of personnel of the state police and a firefighter.

As stated by the local prosecutor, the farmhouse was in a dilapidated shape and had was without power.

The prosecutor thought the blast had occurred on a level above the entrance and stated to reporters it was a “intentional and planned killing”. Moments before the incident, he mentioned officers had “noticed a hissing sound, presumably the gas canisters being activated”.

Neighbor Statements

“We all knew the situation was dire,” neighbors informed local news, mentioning that the three had previously threatened to “blow themselves up” rather than be evicted.

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

Defence Minister Guido Crosetto stood alongside other political leaders in paying tribute to the trio of personnel who had lost their lives in the line of duty.