Three Italian police officers killed in blast while evicting siblings from house

A brother and a sister in their 60s were detained after the blast in the town of Castel d’Azzano, six miles south west Verona, while a third sibling escaped

Tue, 14 Oct, 2025 - 10:38

Associated Press Reporter

Three police officers have been killed and another 13 injured in an explosion as they carried out an eviction near the north-eastern Italian city of Verona.

A brother and a sister in their 60s were detained after the blast in the town of Castel d’Azzano, six miles south west Verona, while a third sibling escaped, police said.

“While our carabinieri were carrying out a judicial order, they were hit by an intentional explosion of a gas tank,” Verona’s carabinieri commander Colonel Claudio Pagano told Sky TG24. He called it “an absolutely crazy gesture”.

Police cordoned off the scene of an explosion (Claudio Furlan/LaPresse via AP)

The two-storey farmhouse had been filled with gas, and the explosion was set off when authorities opened the door, regional governor Luca Zaia told Sky TG24.

It was the second time authorities had attempted to evict the siblings, who had occupied the abandoned structure about a year ago. Another eviction attempt was thwarted last year when the siblings threatened to blow the house up, Mr Zaia said.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and defence minister Guido Crosetto expressed condolences for the deaths of the carabinieri, part of a national militarised police force that plays a central law enforcement role in Italy.