Swiss police shoot ax-wielding village attacker

By Fatih Erel

GENEVA (AA) - A 17-year-old male injured several people with an ax in a rampage in a Swiss village on Sunday night, police have confirmed.

"According to current findings, the attacker is a first-time offender. At this stage, there is nothing to suggest the attacker has a terrorist background,” Swiss police said in a statement.

Shortly after 8 p.m. (1800GMT), a Latvian national attacked several people with the weapon in a post office and a gas station in Flums in northeastern Switzerland’s St. Gallen canton.

He was shot and injured by police before his arrest.

It is still not clear how many people were wounded during the attack but according to Swiss media eight people were hurt, one seriously.

Earlier this year, on July 24, 51-year-old Swiss man Franz Wrousis attacked several people with a chainsaw, injuring three.

He spent a day on the run before police arrested him more than 30 kilometers away from the site of the attack in Schaffhausen, northern Switzerland.