Mass Shooting: Gunman kills three in Switzerland

At least three people were killed and two sustained severe injuries when a gunman opened fire in the Swiss village of Daillon, media reports say.

According to an official, the suspect threatened police when they tried to arrest him, and officers shot and wounded him before taking him into custody, police of the Swiss canton of Valais said in a statement. No police officers were wounded.

Mass shootings appear to be on the upswing in many parts of Europe and in America — even as other types of homicides and violent crimes are becoming less frequent.

Swiss website 20minutes.ch reported that the gunman was a resident of the village, aged about 30, who was armed with an assault rifle and had been drinking heavily.  It quoted a villager as saying one of the dead was a woman in her 80s.

Special police units and local police forces were alerted by a caller who said several people were lying wounded on the ground at about 8.50pm Wednesday (NZT 7.50am Thursday), the police statement said.  It said the incident was being investigated and the site had been closed off.

Mass shootings are rare in Switzerland, although gun possession is widespread — some estimates run to at least one for every three of its 8 million inhabitants.  Many are stored in people’s attics, a legacy of Switzerland’s policy of arming its men to defend its neutrality.

Short URL: https://www.newspakistan.pk/?p=36820

Posted by Web Desk on Jan 3 2013. Filed under World. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.