The suspect in a chainsaw attack on a health insurer's office in Switzerland was carrying a bag with two crossbows when he was detained, but didn't resist arrest, police and prosecutors said Wednesday.

Suspect Franz Wrousis was arrested Tuesday evening in Thalwil, a lakeside town south of Zurich and some 63 kilometres by road from the scene of Monday morning's attack in Schaffhausen. Police said they don't yet know how and when Wrousis got there.

The 50-year-old suspect was arrested after police was tipped off by locals. Prosecutor Peter Sticher said Wrousis was alone and on foot at the time of his arrest, and that "the arrest went without resistance — he behaved properly and co-operatively."

Sticher said at a news conference in Schaffhausen that Wrousis was carrying a plastic bag with two loaded crossbows and two sharpened wooden slats.

This undated photo provided by police shows the suspect in a chainsaw attack in Schaffhausen, Switzerland on Monday. (Schaffhauser Polizei via AP/Associated Press)

Wrousis is accused of attacking two employees of a health insurance company at their office in Schaffhausen's old town. One of them was seriously hurt, though the injuries were not considered life-threatening. Authorities are still searching for the chainsaw used in the attack.

Two customers were treated for shock after they witnessed the attack, and another person was slightly injured during the subsequent police operation. All but one of the five have left the hospital.

Authorities have said Wrousis, a client of health insurer CSS, targeted the agency, although his motive remains unclear.

Following the attack, they issued several photos of Wrousis, which led to "tips from the region" and his arrest, senior regional police official Ravi Landolt said. He declined to elaborate.

The suspect will be examined by a doctor before being questioned, Landolt said.