Three police officers killed in Italy after explosion at house during eviction | Italy
Three police officers were killed and at least 13 others were injured in an explosion at a farmhouse near Verona, authorities said Tuesday.
Police were trying to evacuate the house in Castel d’Azzano in northern Italy when it was blown up overnight in what was suspected to be a deliberate act of violence.
Police arrested two men and a woman, siblings all in their 60s, who were the targets of the eviction.
Investigative sources said the house was filled with gas and the explosion was triggered when the front door was opened as law enforcement entered.
“When we entered the house, we encountered an act of complete madness,” state police commander Claudio Papagno told the ANSA news agency. “A gas canister was ignited and the explosion hit our officers directly.”
The official said the investigation was ongoing, adding that it appeared to be a “deliberate act.”
“It was a building that had been abandoned for several months and the occupants had actually barricaded themselves inside,” he said.
According to ANSA, previous attempts to evacuate the family, who were experiencing financial difficulties, were thwarted by threats from the brothers to blow themselves up.
Papagno confirmed that two people were arrested. Shortly after, the president of the Veneto region, Luca Zaia, announced on social media that the third resident of the house had also been detained.
Firefighters said 12 law enforcement officers and one civilian woman were injured in X.
Verona chief prosecutor Raffaele Tito said that the three suspects were facing charges of “premeditated murder” and that authorities were also considering charges of mass murder. “I gave permission to search for Molotov cocktails after bottles were seen on the roof in the Carabinieri’s photographs,” Tito said.
Tito said they allegedly threatened “the court-appointed executor tasked with selling the property” in late September and “said one of them was going to blow himself up.” “Therefore, the house search was allowed.”
Italian president Sergio Mattarella and prime minister Giorgia Meloni paid tribute and expressed “horror and deep sadness”.
“Under these dramatic circumstances, I express my solidarity with the Carabinieri Corps, convey my joint condolences to the family members and wish a speedy recovery to the injured officers,” Mattarella said.
Meloni said, “I follow with sadness the developments of this dramatic event, which once again reminds us of the value and daily sacrifices of those who serve the state and citizens.”
AFP and ANSA contributed to this report
