They opened a door, and hell engulfed them. Three Carabinieri were killed, thirteen other police officers and soldiers were injured—some under the rubble—in what, for all intents and purposes, appears to have been a calculated act : a house filled with gas, a fuse lit at the entrance, and a devastating explosion.
It happened in Castel d'Azzano, in the province of Verona. The eviction had been planned for days. The farmhouse, a two-story rural building, was occupied by three brothers already known to law enforcement. This time, the threat to "blow themselves up"—already made in at least two previous incidents—became true.
When the Carabinieri officers and specialized agents from the UOPI—the police's counterterrorism unit—approached the house, tensions were already at their highest. One of the three brothers had barricaded himself inside with the other two. The smell of gas was evident. Some officers climbed onto the roof to rappel down, while others approached the main entrance.
Gas cylinders and the remains of Molotov cocktails were found in the exploded farmhouse. Firefighters recovered five cylinders that had been placed in multiple rooms of the house and are now piled up in the courtyard. The house was filled with gas, presumably released from multiple cylinders, given the powerful explosion that caused the building to collapse.
The woman was thought to have lit the fuse, while the two brothers were apparently in a sort of cellar, not a stable as initially reported. All three had barricaded themselves in the house.
As soon as the door was opened, the explosion hit the group . The farmhouse collapsed, immediately engulfed in flames. Some bodies were thrown outside, others buried.
The victims were Lieutenant Special Charge Marco Piffari, Chief Brigadier Valerio Daprà, and Carabiniere Select Davide Bernardello. They were on duty between Padua and Mestre. Nothing could be done for them. One was pulled out lifeless half an hour after the explosion.
