A gunman burst into the chambers of a regional parliament in central Switzerland Thursday and opened fire, killing 14 people and wounding 14, before killing himself in what the government described as a "mad killing spree."
The man, who appeared to hold a grudge against the local authorities, threw an explosive device then opened fire with an assault rifle and pistol on members of the regional parliament, the authorities said.
They were quick to add that the attack, which sprayed the local assembly hall with blood, apparently had no connection with the US terrorist attacks that have raised fears of violence worldwide.
Police said the shooting rampage appeared to have been the act of a deranged individual.
Peter Hess, the speaker of the Swiss assembly, the National Council, interrupted a debate in Bern to tell national deputies about the incident.
"Today at 10:30 am (0830 GMT), a lone armed attacker burst into the parliament building in Zug canton and fired wildly around himself with an assault rifle, then he also used a pistol, he fired many shots," Frigo said.
Police later said in a statement that the man also threw a "detonation package".
"For the moment all investigations are being carried out, we are sure that it has no connection with international terrorism, it must be the act of a lone, unbalanced perpetrator who was unhappy with something in the administration," he added.
A press conference was scheduled for 5:00 pm (1500 GMT) in the town.
Swiss radio said that the attacker was disguised as a policeman and emptied five magazines from an automatic rifle before he committed suicide.
"We don't know who he was exactly, but we do know he was Swiss," Frigo said. Media reports said he was from the Zurich area.
More weapons were found in his car, which was parked in front of the building.
Police said they had found a "confession letter" which media reports said referred to a "day of reckoning for the Zug mafia".
An ATS reporter, who was covering a session of the regional parliament at the time of the shooting, said that "there was blood everywhere", with casualties lying on the floor and small fires burning in the assembly hall.
His voice shaking, the reporter told Swiss television that there appeared to be an explosion, possibly from a grenade, and there was thick smoke inside the hall.
ATS reported that the man started shooting at parliamentarians, followed by members of the local government and then at journalists in the hall.
Among the dead were health director Monika Hutter-Hafliger, public works director Jean-Paul Flachsman and interior department director Peter Brossard, Zurich's Tele24 television reported.
Eleven other members of the parliament were killed, police said.
The president of the regional government, Hans-Peter Uster, was reportedly among the 10 injured.
There are 80 seats in the parliament of Zug, a small canton, or region, in central Switzerland with 92,000 inhabitants.
About 30 ambulances and two helicopters were rushed to the scene, and the Zug city center was immediately sealed off, while local residents described scenes of chaos on the street outside.
"I saw people rushing out of the building. It was really horrible, I was shocked," Viktor Schach, a shopkeeper opposite the parliament building told Swiss TV.
The Swiss government said in a statement that it was "dismayed at the killing frenzy".
"The Federal Council [cabinet] is distraught before this incomprehensible and terrible act, which endangers the very foundations of community life," the statement added.
Swiss President Moritz Leuenberger traveled to Zug to visit the site of the tragedy.
Most Swiss men carry out annual military service until the age of 40 and keep their military-issue assault rifle at home, but incidents involving army rifles are rarely reported.
"Every soldier in Switzerland has a service weapon of that kind, we don't know if it was one, but it is possible," Frigo said.
Mass shootings similar to those that have occurred in the United States in recent years are virtually unheard of in Switzerland.
A closely-knit community, the Zug area is favored in the business community because of its low taxes, which attract many foreign companies -- ZUG, Switzerland (AFP)
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