The horrifying alleged attack in Castel d’Azzano, Italy, has seen three siblings investigated on suspicion of murder, with mass murder charges reportedly being considered
Three policemen have been killed and more than a dozen others have been injured in a horror explosion while carrying out an eviction – with a murder probe launched after three siblings were detained.
Dino, Franco and Maria Luisa Rampini, two brothers and a sister, have been detained in connection with the explosion in the Italian town of Castel d’Azzano, police said. Verona chief prosecutor Raffaele Tito told reporters at the scene of the deadly blast that the three were being investigated for premeditated murder, claiming local police were “intentionally” hit during a scheduled eviction.
He said: “While our carabinieri were carrying out a judicial order, they were hit by an intentional explosion of a gas tank.” Regional governor Luca Zaia said the “absolutely crazy” alleged act came after the two-storey farmhouse was filled with gas.
Mr Tito said the eviction was carefully planned, but the reaction, he added was “so violent, that it was hard to predict”. The explosion and subsequent three deaths and 13 injuries came during the second attempted eviction of the siblings, who occupied the centry-old property in 2024.
Mr Zaia alleged the trio had threatened to blow up the house during an initial eviction attempt last year, while fighting what they viewed as an unjust foreclosure of their family farm.
In a video filmed during last year’s attempted eviction posted online by the newspaper Corriere della Sera, Ms Rampini says the siblings would be opposing the attempt “in every way”. She said: “They took away the agricultural company, the land and now the house, probably.
“Today they wanted to carry out the eviction. We are opposing it in every way. We have filled the house with gas to be able to fight.” Two of the three siblings were arrested following this year’s explosion, dubbed a “massacre” by the Italian press.
A third was captured by local police after they combed through a nearby field for hours. The trio will be charged with murder, with a further charge of mass murder reportedly being considered. The alleged deliberate explosion has caused outrage in Italy, with the local government declaring a day of national mourning on the funerals of the three dead officers.
They have been named as Marco Piffari, Davide Bernardello, and Valerio Daprà. Representatives for Comune di Castel d’Azzano said in a statement that the community stands with the officers’ families.
The satement read: “With deep sorrow, the community stands with the families and loved ones of Lieutenant Marco Piffari, Carabiniere Scelto Davide Bernardello, and Brigadier Chief Valerio Daprà, who lost their lives in the line of duty.
“Our condolences go to the injured members of the public forces who participated in the joint operation between the Carabinieri and the State Police, supported by the firefighters and Suem workers, who today—like every day—risked their lives for the good of the community.”