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CRIME

Teenage axe attacker expressed violent fantasies

The Latvian teenager who injured seven people in an axe attack in Flums on Sunday night had already been psychologically assessed by the authorities after expressing violent fantasies, according to reports.

Published: 25 October 2017 09:13 CEST
Teenage axe attacker expressed violent fantasies
Flums train station. Photo: NAC/Wikimedia Commons
Educational authorities in the canton of St Gallen flagged up the 17-year-old for evaluation some four months ago, said news agency ATS.
 
In September the public prosecutor opened an investigation to assess whether the teen represented a risk to the public – and decided that he did not.
 
The boy had never expressed concrete threats towards anyone in particular, nor shown signs that suggested he would commit violent acts, therefore no concrete measures against him were imposed, reported ATS. 
 
However according to Le Matin, the authorities didn’t take into account the teen’s page on Russian Facebook equivalent VKontakt, on which he wrote under ‘activities’, “violence and killing children”, and stated Hitler’s Mein Kampf as his favourite book. 
 
But the St Gallen educational authorities denied there had been an error, telling the paper that, at the time the teen was assessed in September, he presented no threat to the public. 
 
The 17-year-old was on Tuesday still in hospital after being injured during his arrest at a service station in Flums.
 
Police told the media that three of his seven victims also remained in hospital. 
 
The rampage began on Sunday night at around 8pm when the Latvian, wielding an axe, set up on a couple walking with their baby in a pram on the Postplatz in Flums. 
 
A 36-year-old man was seriously injured. The woman was also injured but the extent of those injuries has not been clarified, said ATS.
 
The baby was not attacked but fell from the pram during the fracas. 
 
Two passers-by who came to help the couple were also injured – a 72-year-old man and a 59-year-old woman. 
 
The teen attacker then fled in a car, which he promptly crashed. He then walked to a service station where he attacked three more people – women aged 21, 27 and 44. 
 
Police then deployed tasers and guns to apprehend the perpetrator, injuring him in the process. 
 
As yet the teen’s motives are unknown. There is nothing to indicate a link to terrorism, said police. 
 
Born in Latvia, the boy arrived in Switzerland four years ago and was pursuing an apprenticeship, said the media. 
 
Friends told Blick he was quiet and “not the aggressive type”.
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CRIME

‘Your permit is invalid’: Foreigners in Switzerland warned to avoid new scam

Scores of foreign residents have received an email recently telling them their residency rights in Switzerland have been revoked.

Published: 26 April 2024 11:17 CEST
Updated: 2 May 2024 15:04 CEST
'Your permit is invalid': Foreigners in Switzerland warned to avoid new scam

A number of foreign nationals, especially in the German-speaking part of the country, have received an official-looking letter, purportedly from the State Secretariat for Migration (SEM) informing them that the Free Movement of People agreement between Switzerland and the EU has been nullified, and therefore “your residence permit is no longer valid.”

Faced with enquiries from concerned recipients, SEM responded that the letter is fake, advising recipients to ignore it and, above all, not to click on the QR code on the top.

“Fake letters from the SEM have been circulating since the beginning of this week,” the immigration authority said on its website as well as on X (formerly Twitter).  

“The letter has no impact on the recipient’s  residence status,” SEM added.

Fake jobs, real threats

However, this is only the latest scam perpetrated in the name of SEM.

There have been others in the past.

For instance, many foreigners have also received emails from addresses swissimmigration@consultant or eu_immigration@consultant, that pretend to be the Swiss immigration authority.

“In most cases, a fictitious job in the hotel industry is offered, with the senders demanding payment of 300 to 1,000 euros for a permit in Switzerland and for health and accident insurance,” SEM reported.

The first clue that this email doesn’t come from  SEM, which is part of Switzerland’s government, is that it is asking for payment in euros. If the scammers were smarter, they’d demand Swiss francs.

“These e-mails do not come from the SEM and should be considered as an attempt at fraud,” the agency said. 

Extortion attempt

And a few years ago, a number of foreigners received emails coming allegedly from SEM, Swiss border control authorities, or even the Federal Office of Police (Fedpol).

They threatened to revoke the victim’s residence permit or even expel them from the country altogether if they didn’t pay a certain sum of money into an anonymous account.

Needless to say, no government authority would ever resort to blackmail or demand payment for such ‘services’.

So a good rule to remember (for foreigners and Swiss alike) is that if threats and pressure are involved, letters / emails / phone calls ( WhatsUp messages are more than likely scams.
 
READ ALSO: The common scams foreigners in Switzerland need to be aware of 

Don’t respond

SEM as well as police urge everyone contacted by scammers, by whatever means to:

  • Ignore these messages by hanging up the phone and / or deleting emails, moving them to the Spam folder
  • Never give out your credit card number or bank account information to people you don’t know
  • If you did give your card number, contact your credit card company immediately to have the card blocked. Likewise, if you gave out your banking details, get in touch with your bank.
  • In the event of threats of extortion attempts, consider filing a criminal complaint. You can search for police stations in your area on the Police website. 
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