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UPDATED: Swiss police arrest suspected chainsaw attacker

Swiss police on Tuesday tracked down and arrested a man believed to have carried out a chainsaw attack in a Schaffhausen office building which left several injured.

Published: 26 July 2017 08:27 CEST
Updated: 26 July 2017 10:58 CEST
UPDATED: Swiss police arrest suspected chainsaw attacker
Police in Schaffhausen after the attack. Photo: Michael Buholzer/AFP
Schaffhausen police said in a statement that a suspect was arrested by Zurich police late on Tuesday in Thalwil, a town south of Zurich.
 
In a press conference and additional statement on Wednesday morning police said the suspect was located thanks to help from the public, who had reported his presence in Thalwil. 
 
He was alone and on foot at the time he was apprehended, and did not resist arrest.
 
The chainsaw used in the attack was not in his possession, but he was carrying two loaded crossbows and two sharpened pieces of wood in a plastic bag.
   
The alleged perpetrator was identified on Monday as police appealed to the public to help track him down.
 
The suspect has a criminal history and had reportedly been living in a forest.
 
He is alleged to have targeted the CSS insurance company in the northern town of Schaffhausen, storming into their office and injuring two people, one of them seriously.
   
Three other people suffered various injuries amid the subsequent fracas.
 
The suspect was caught on camera just before the attack carrying a black bag and rucksack in a photo that police issued to the public during a massive manhunt. 
 
An international warrant was issued for his arrest and Schaffhausen police were helped by police forces from neighbouring cantons in their search.
 
Over 300 police officers were involved in the search.

ATTACK

Swiss chainsaw attacker still on the run

The man who injured several people on Monday morning after storming a Schaffhausen office building with a chainsaw is still on the run, police have said.

Published: 25 July 2017 10:35 CEST
Swiss chainsaw attacker still on the run
Police hunt for Wrousis. Photo: Michael Buholzer/AFP
 
Two CSS employees were injured by the chainsaw, one seriously. Three other people were lightly injured, one in the course of the police operation, Schaffhausen police said in a statement on Tuesday.
 
Four of the five people taken to hospital have now been released.
 
Though the motive for the attack is unknown, Wrousis is thought to have specifically targeted CSS, of which he was a customer. 
 
Police stressed on Monday that the attack was not terror-related. 
 
Wrousis, a loner of no fixed abode who is thought to have lived in forests in several parts of Switzerland, fled the scene on Monday in a white VW Caddy that was later found by police in woods near Uhwiesen. 
 
A car belonging to Wrousis was found by police. Photo: Michael Buholzer/AFP
 
However the man himself remains at large.  
 
An intensive search is under way and police have issued an international warrant for his arrest. 
 
Currently there is nothing to suggest that he has crossed the border into Germany, German officials told the media.
 
Speaking to 20 Minuten, Ruedi Karrer, the president of Uhwiesen, two kilometres from Schaffhausen, said Wrousis had been living in the nearby forest for two weeks prior to the attack.
 
He had been acting bizarrely and “told my dog he had a great haircut,” said Karrer.
 
The suspect is described as 186m tall with brown short hair – contrary to a previous police statement that he was bald.
 
A picture taken just before the attack shows him wearing a green jacket and black trousers and carrying a black bag thought to contain the chainsaw. He also had an olive backback and white shoulder bag. 
 
Anyone who sees Wrousis should stay away from him and call Schaffhausen police on 052 624 2424 or the emergency number 117.
 
Police issued this image of Wrousis taken just before the attack. Photo: Schaffhausen police