Man injures children in Zurich "Normally the children sing, today they shouted for help": Ex-policeman held the perpetrator

SDA

1.10.2024 - 13:18

A man attacked a group of after-school children with a knife in Zurich-Oerlikon on Tuesday: Three children were injured, one 5-year-old boy seriously. The perpetrator was arrested and the police are still investigating.

No time? blue News summarizes for you

  • A police operation is currently underway at Berninaplatz in Zurich-Oerlikon.
  • Many officers are on the scene.
  • The background is still unclear.
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  • 18.21 hrs

    First responder reports how he restrained the attacker

    blue News was able to speak to Mirco Brühwiler (38), the man who held the attacker until the police arrived on the scene. He reports: "I work right here in the area where it happened. Normally the children sing or talk to each other when they are on their way to lunch. Today they called for help."

    Brühwiler was immediately alerted and went to the street outside his place of work. "So I went out into the street and saw passers-by who told me that the man sitting on the ground had attacked children with a knife."

    The attacker was sitting on the ground. He was surrounded by passers-by and an after-school care worker. Brühwiler continues: "I went up to him and secured him with a handle. I was a police officer myself for 13 years. When I detained him, I asked a passer-by where the knife was. She said she was into it."

    Brühwiler then waited until the emergency services arrived on the scene. "That happened very quickly." Brühwiler couldn't say exactly what was going on in the attacker's mind. "He wasn't really talking," he reports. Brühwiler cannot say whether the attacker felt nervous or scared. "I didn't pay any attention to it. My job was to secure the man. Just normal civil courage, "as it should be".

    Mirco Brühwiler helped the supervisor to restrain the attacker until the police arrived on the scene.
    Mirco Brühwiler helped the supervisor to restrain the attacker until the police arrived on the scene.
    blue News
  • 5.10 p.m.

    Police operation in another building

    According to residents, the police were also on the scene in this residential building near the crime scene. It mainly contains student apartments. It is not known whether the alleged perpetrator lived in the house or what connection the house has with the investigation.

    The police were also deployed in this residential building.
    The police were also deployed in this residential building.
    blue News
  • 4.43 p.m.

    Impressions from the crime scene

  • 16.15 hrs

    Area cordoned off over a wide area

    "The police have cordoned off the area", reports a blue News reporter. Even local residents are currently not being allowed through. Officers are on site with numerous emergency vehicles.

    The police have been deployed in large numbers since midday.
    The police have been deployed in large numbers since midday.
    blue News
  • 3.57 pm

    Perpetrator is a 23-year-old man - caregiver reacted with presence of mind

    The Zurich city police have released new details about the attack in Zurich-Oerlikon: According to the report, an after-school care worker was on her way with several children to an after-school care center with lunch and afternoon care, when suddenly a man with a stabbing weapon attacked the children.

    The day-care worker reacted immediately and overpowered the attacker with the help of another man and held the suspected perpetrator until the emergency services arrived. The 23-year-old Chinese man was arrested by the Zurich city police and taken to a police station.

    One seriously injured and two moderately injured boys aged 5 were given initial medical treatment by the ambulance service of Zurich Protection & Rescue and other rescue services and then taken to hospital.

  • 3.30 p.m.

    Student building cordoned off

    A few hundred meters away from the cordoned-off area, residents had to leave a house on Oerlikonerstrasse. Residents are currently not allowed to enter the student building, as one woman told "20 Minuten". Some people have been escorted into the building by the police.

    Special police units are also on site, equipped with fully automatic weapons and combat gear. They are currently searching several buildings on the street.

A man attacked several children in Zurich-North on Tuesday afternoon. He injured three children. The Zurich city police have arrested the suspected perpetrator.

The police were informed shortly after 12 noon about a violent crime on Berninastrasse in Zurich-Oerlikon. They immediately deployed a large number of officers.

The officers, some of whom were heavily armed, subsequently cordoned off the area. A large police drone made its rounds over the area. The city police initially only confirmed that a police operation was underway, without providing any further information.

The area is cordoned off over a large area.
The area is cordoned off over a large area.
BRK News

Shortly after 2 p.m., they then announced that a man had attacked several children and injured three of them. The suspect had been arrested. "There is no longer any danger to the public."

"I saw parents running past in the direction of the nursery"

One person told "20 Minuten" that parents were led into the day nursery under police escort. A local resident says: "I saw parents running past in the direction of the nursery."

An eyewitness told TeleZüri: "I heard children screaming and then lots of police arrived."

Further details - such as the nature and severity of the children's injuries and the man suspected of the crime - are not yet available. The city police announced that they would provide further information "at a later date". A hotline has been set up for relatives.

SDA