Gunman in police uniform kills 14 Swiss politicians

A man armed with a Swiss army assault rifle and explosives went on the rampage in the regional parliament of a lakeside town yesterday.

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Bloodbath in parliament on killer's 'day of rage'

Armed nation where the sound of gunfire fills the valleys at weekends

A man armed with a Swiss army assault rifle and explosives went on the rampage in the regional parliament of a lakeside town yesterday.

Fourteen MPs and the gunman died and 14 others were seriously injured in the worst massacre Switzerland has witnessed. The three-minute shooting spree in Zug, which claimed three members of the regional government, was the first killing of Swiss politicians since 1899.

After emptying five magazines of his semi-automatic, the gunman apparently exploded a hand-grenade. Some witnesses said that the assailant, Friedrich Leibacher, a 57-year-old Zurich resident who had grown up in the town, shouted "bastards" as he squeezed the trigger of his army issue semi-automatic.

Among the 14 who were seriously injured was Hanspeter Uster, the head of the regional government, who was shot through the lung.

"It lasted around three minutes, almost like an execution," Hanspeter Hausheer, one of the wounded MPs, said. "As the man stormed up the stairs in a police uniform, we didn't think anything was up. As the first shot was fired, I had the feeling it could be a blank because I didn't feel anything."

Journalists and visitors in the public gallery dived to the floor when the first shots rang out.

Christoph Luchsinger, the Mayor of Zug, rushed into the assembly hall when he heard the shots, to be confronted by what he described as "a terrible scene of horror".

Hugo Halter, a police spokesman, said how the gunman died was not clear, although he was alive when taken into custody. He said police had not fired a shot throughout.

Police displayed a type- written note Leibacher had left behind, railing against "the Zug Mafia", an apparent reference to the local authorities.

"On the basis of this letter, we can exclude any type of connection with the terrorist attacks in the United States," said Urs Hurlimann, the head of Zug's police force.

Leibacher is believed to have had a grievance against a bus driver dating from two years ago, which spiralled into more complaints against the local transport authorities.

He used a 5.6mm SIG Sturmgewehr 90, a standard issue for Swiss conscripts. When police later seized his car parked near by they found a cache of weapons inside.

Moritz Leuenberger, the Swiss President, ordered all state flags to fly at half-mast for the next three days. "Our democracy and freedom has been called into question. I am just so shocked I can find no more words," he said.

Despite the abundance of firearms, Switzerland is blessed with a low crime rate, and security around public buildings is minimal.

Many of the country's leading politicians have no police protection. Easy access to government is regarded as an enduring virtue of Switzerland's "direct democracy".

Nevertheless, questions were being raised yesterday about the extremely lax security at Zug's assembly. Even if the assailant was posing as a policeman, one carrying a rather noticeable semi-automatic should have been seen as something out of the ordinary.