A Chainsaw-Wielding Attacker Has Injured 5 People In The Swiss Town Of Schaffhausen

The sleepy down of Schaffhausen, located along the German border in northern Switzerland, was shocked by a chainsaw-wielding attacker who injured five people and fled the scene on Monday. According to CNN, five of the two victims were seriously injured, though Reuters reports local police are cautioning the press that this is “not an act of terror.” They do, however, believe the unidentified suspect is “dangerous” and have therefore placed much of central Schaffhausen on lock down until further notice.

According to BBC News, police were first notified of an incident at a down town office building at 10:39am local time, when an “armed man” entered brandishing a chainsaw. The suspect then attacked several people, including the five he injured, before fleeing in what police later described as a “white VW van.” The attacker has not been identified by name, though the authorities did describe him as being “about 190cm (6.2ft) tall” and “with an unkempt appearance.” They also distributed several grainy photos of him to the press.

“It’s a very peaceful place. A quiet place normally,” a local reporter later told CNN in response to the massive police presence in Schaffhausen, which included several helicopters. “It’s kind of a big thing for this town of course and many people here are really shocked.” Meanwhile, others took to Twitter to share photos of the police lock down.

(Via CNN, Reuters and BBC News)