26th July, 2017
The man who carried out a chainsaw attack in Switzerland was carrying two loaded crossbows when he was detained, a prosecutor said on Wednesday.
The suspect was found by police near Zurich, some 60km from the insurance office in Schaffhausen where he had injured two employees with a chainsaw on the previous day.
In addition, two people suffered shock during the incident while a third person was slightly injured during the police operation following the attack.
Some 300 police officers were deployed in a large search for the man who had previous convictions for breaking the Swiss weapons law, and who was known to have psychological problems.
After authorities issued a call for help from the population and published photos of the itinerant man, they received tips from citizens that led police to the suspect in Thalwil near Zurich, prosecutor Peter Sticher told a press conference in Schaffhausen.
The fugitive, who was walking on foot, did not put up resistance when police apprehended him.
“At the time of his detention, he was carrying two crossbows loaded with arrows as well as two sharpened pieces of wood in a plastic bag,’’ Sticher said.
He did not have the chainsaw with him.
The motive is still unclear, but investigators have said that the attack was apparently related to the fact that the man was a client of the insurance provide