Franz Wrousis is allegedly the man responsible for attacking five people with a chainsaw in the Switzerland town of Schaffhausen.
According to police spokeswoman Cindy Beer, the town has been locked down, and police and ambulances are on the scene and rescue helicopters are circling overhead.
At a news conference, police said the attacker was on the run, and a large number of officers were deployed in the area. While the suspect was identified, he currently remains at large.
Police are currently searching for Wrousis, who is being described as being 6′ 2″ tall, with an unkempt appearance, and is believed to be driving a white Volkswagen van. The 51-year-old has reportedly been living in the woods nearby to where the attack took place. Police have confirmed that the attack was not terror related. Police have also found the vehicle they believe to be Wrousis’, a white Volkswagen, although he remains at large.
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via BBC:
The attack sparked a manhunt involving more than 100 officers from both Switzerland and Germany. Police say the 51-year-old, who lives in the woods, is dangerous and believed to be still armed with the chainsaw.
His exact motives are still not clear, but police Major Ravi Landolt told a news conference: “This is not an attack against a hypothetical person. This is clearly against people from the insurer.”
Mr. Wrousis, who has two previous convictions for weapons offenses, is reported to have entered the offices in Schaffhausen on Monday morning. He then allegedly attacked a number of people working in the branch of health insurance company CSS. At least one employee was left with serious injuries but is now out of danger.
Switzerland’s 20 Minuten, says that people who live in the woods nearby confirmed that Wrousis had bee living there for ‘at least a couple of weeks.’ One resident also told 20 Minuten that they had to report Wrousis to police after he verbally abused them.
According to a spokesperson for the involved insurance company said that the two injured in the attack underwent emergency surgery.
About Schaffhausen
Schaffhausen is a town with historic roots with an estimated population of 36,000 as of December 2016. It is located right next to the shore of the High Rhine; it is one of four Swiss towns that is located on the northern side of the Rhine.
The old portion of the town has many fine Renaissance era buildings decorated with exterior frescos and sculpture, as well as the impressive old canton fortress, the Munot. Schaffhausen is also a railway junction of Swiss and German rail networks. One of the lines connects the town with the nearby Rhine Falls in Neuhausen am Rheinfall, Europe’s largest waterfall, a tourist attraction.
