Old town of Schaffhausen has been sealed off as police search for alleged perpetrator, who they believe intentionally targeted health insurance firm CSS

This article is more than 3 years old

This article is more than 3 years old

A man who injured several people with a chainsaw when he stormed the office of an insurance company in the Swiss town of Schaffhausen on Monday morning remains at large as over a hundred police officers are engaged in a man-hunt along the Swiss-German border.

One person was seriously hurt and four others sustained light injuries when Swiss citizen Franz Wrousis, 51, went on a rampage at the offices of CSS, a leading health insurance company. Authorities on Monday afternoon downgraded earlier reports of two victims with serious injuries.

Police believe the attack was directly targeted at the insurance company but could not comment further on a possible motive while the attacker remained on the run.

“This is not an attack against a hypothetical person. This is clearly against people from the insurer,” Major Ravi Landolt of the police told a news conference.

Police spokesperson Cindy Beer confirmed that the incident was not being treated as a terrorist attack.

Emergency services had been informed of the incident at 10.39am (0839 GMT) but found that the perpetrator had left the scene of the crime by the time police arrived.

Schaffhausen’s old town has been sealed off as police continue to search for the perpetrator in the centre and vicinity of Switzerland’s northernmost city.

Wrousis, described as an approximately 1.9m tall male, bald and of “unkempt appearance”, was already known to police in relation with two offences against the country’s weapons law, in 2014 and 2016. Police were able to release several close-up pictures of the wanted man.

Having previously been registered in the canton of Graubünden, Wrousis had recently been without fixed abode and is believed to have lived in a stretch of forest 2km outside Schaffhausen.



The municipal mayor said Wrousis had left a confused impression on the local population: “He told my dog that he had a great haircut,” Ruedi Karre told news portal 24 Minuten.

A white Volkswagen Caddy vehicle with a Graubünden number plate previously used by Wrousis was later discovered in the city.

Schaffhausen state prosecutor Peter Stichler appealed for caution among the local population, saying that Wrousis could act aggressively when cornered.