A lone gunman with a grudge against a local bus company burst into a regional parliament chamber in an idyllic central Swiss town today, killing 14 local politicians before he shot himself.
Armed with an army assault rifle and a pistol, and wearing a uniform, Mr Friederich Leibacher raked members of the local parliament and government in Zug canton with gunfire before throwing what appeared to be a grenade, accordin gto local police.
A further 14 people were wounded, eight of them seriously.
Mr Leibacher, who reportedly left a note entitled "Day of Wrath for the Zug mafia", killed eleven local parliamentarians as well as three of the seven members in the cantonal government.
The authorities were quick to add that the attack, which sprayed the local assembly hall with blood, had no connection with any political aims, but was the act of what they called a madman.
|
|
An injured person is brought to an ambulance near the local assembly of Zug, Switzerland. Fourteen people died when a gunman stormed a local assembly and opened fire.
|
"A person with a uniform emptied a whole magazine from an assault rifle. He then left and returned to let off an explosive device which we believe was a grenade," Zug police chief Mr Urs Hurlimann told a news conference.
"He then fell to the ground and we believe he committed suicide," he said.
Justice officials identified Mr Leibacher as a 57 year-old Zurich resident who recently lost a long legal battle against Zug officials which was triggered by an argument with a bus driver for the local public transport company.
Police said the dispute escalated into a court battle over defamation and Leibacher accused members of the local government of abuse of power in pamphlets handed out in the town.
More weapons were found in Leibacher's car, which was parked in front of the building.
A reporter for the Swiss news agency ATS, who was covering a session of the local parliament at the time of the shooting, said that "there was blood everywhere", with casualties lying on the floor and small fires burning in the assembly hall.
The 22,700 inhabitants of the town were plunged into mourning after Mr Leibacher virtually wiped out Zug's cantonal government.
AFP