RTMon, 24 Jul 2017 14:41 UTC
© Arnd Wiegmann / ReutersSwiss police officers stand at a crime scene in Schaffhausen, Switzerland July 24, 2017.
A manhunt is underway in the Swiss town of Schaffhausen after a chainsaw-wielding assailant injured five people, two seriously, in a violent attack. Police say they are not treating the attack as a terrorist incident.
Police identified the suspect and confirmed the weapon he used. The suspect is described as dangerous and bald with an
"unkempt" appearance. Measuring about 1 meter 90 centimeters (6ft 2in) in height, he's believed to be driving a white Volkswagen Caddy.
The vehicle has now been located by police, reported Tages
Anzeiger. Images of the suspect have been released.
Police say five people are injured. They were alerted to the scene just after 10.30am local time after the suspect entered a CSS health insurance office.
Parts of the old town are sealed off due to a
"special situation," according to police. Ambulance teams and police are on the scene and rescue helicopters are circling overhead, according to a police
spokesperson.
Comment: The suspect, 50-year-old Franz Wrousis, was
arrested Tuesday evening in Thalwil:
Although the incident was not at any point treated as a terrorist attack, a wide-ranging international manhunt was launched amid fears that Wrousis, who was reportedly living rough in the forest, could slip into Germany.
...
Later on Wednesday, law enforcement officials told a news conference that Wrousis had two loaded crossbows and two sharpened wooden slats in his possession when he was apprehended, but that he did not resist arrest. The chainsaw has not yet been found.
Police managed to track and arrest the suspect following numerous tip-offs from local residents, prosecutor Peter Sticher said, adding that the operation to catch Wrousis involved 50 to 100 officers.
...
Wrousis was already known to law enforcement for repeated weapons offenses, for which he was detained in 2014 and 2016. He was considered a threat to public safety while on the loose, and it was suspected that he could have been in possession of arms.
Details of Wrousis' detainment are still unknown, with police promising to reveal further details later on Wednesday. The man was described by those who saw him as being mentally unstable and aloof, living a reclusive way of life mostly in the woods. "This is a dangerous and aggressive man," said Ravi Landoldt, chief of security in Schaffhausen, as quoted by Deutsche Welle.
However, not everyone who knew the suspect considered him a threat. "He looked like a schizophrenic, but we didn't think that it would be that bad. We didn't see him as a threat or anything," a man by the name of Samuel told Reuters, adding that Wrousis did appear to be a "strange guy."
Although Wrousis' motives were not immediately clear, the Swiss health insurance company CSS, whose offices he raided, said he was a client.
Comment: The suspect, 50-year-old Franz Wrousis, was arrested Tuesday evening in Thalwil: