Story highlights The attack started in an insurance office

Suspected attacker named as Franz Wrousis, 51, a Swiss national

Schaffhausen, Switzerland (CNN) Police are searching for a chainsaw-wielding attacker who injured five people, including at least one seriously, in northern Switzerland.

Police said they do not believe Monday's attack in the historic town of Schaffhausen is terrorism related, but warned the public that the man at large is "dangerous."

Franz Wrousis

The attacker was identified as 51-year-old Franz Wrousis, a Swiss national with no fixed address who lives in a forest, Schaffhausen public prosecutor Peter Sticher said.

Sticher described him as a 190 centimeter-tall (6 feet 2 inches tall) bald white man, while police described him as a man of "untidy appearance."

Authorities are seeking the public's help in locating Wrousis. Schaffhausen police released a photo of him taken before the incident on CCTV cameras. He appears to be wearing a green windbreaker and black trousers, police said. He is carrying a big black bag that may have contained the chainsaw.

Read More</s>SCHAFFHAUSEN, Switzerland — A man wielding a chainsaw in northern Switzerland injured several people, including two seriously, on Monday morning, police said.

Police have said they do not believe the attack is terrorism related but warned the public that the man is at large and “dangerous.”

The attack happened after 10:30 a.m. local time (2:30 a.m. MDT) in the historic town of Schaffhausen near the country’s northern border with Germany.

Police described the attacker as around 6-foot-2 and of an “untidy appearance.”

Images of the scene on social media show a cobble-stoned street cordoned off, with police vehicles and ambulances in the area.

A journalist in Schaffhausen, Marco Latzer, said helicopters were also responding at the scene. He said that the incident was a shock to the people of Schaffhausen.

“It’s a very peaceful place … a quiet place normally,” he said. “It’s kind of a big thing for this town of course and many people here are really shocked.”</s>The suspect in a chainsaw attack that left two people injured Monday has been arrested, police in northern Switzerland said Tuesday.

Police identified the suspect Monday as 51-year-old Franz Wrousis, a Swiss national with no fixed address who lives in a forest.

The Schaffhausen police department announced the arrest on its website Tuesday night. More information will be provided at a news conference Wednesday morning, the statement said.

The attack began in an insurance office in the historic Swiss town of about 34,000 people near the German border. Police initially said five people were injured and later updated the number to two.

Christina Wettstein, a spokesperson for the insurance company CSS, said two of the company’s employees were injured, one seriously. They underwent surgery and are recovering, she said.

The suspect has a health insurance policy with the company, she said.

“The suspect targeted our company. He wanted to harm our employees,” she said. “But, we cannot say exactly what the motive was. All we know is he wanted to harm our employees.”

The attack led to a manhunt in which police sought the public’s help. Schaffhausen police released a photo of Wrousis taken before the incident on CCTV cameras.

Wrousis has been charged twice in the past for having illegal weapons, in 2014 and 2016, but he wasn’t sentenced to prison, Schaffhausen public prosecutor Peter Sticher said Monday.

The incident was a shock to the people of Schaffhausen, said Marco Latzer, a journalist in Schaffhausen.

“It’s kind of a big thing for this town, of course, and many people here are really shocked,” he said. “It’s a very peaceful place… a quiet place, normally.”</s>An unkempt man armed with a chainsaw wounded five people Monday at an insurance office in the northern Swiss city of Schaffhausen and then fled, police said. A manhunt was on.

Police were alerted to the attack at 10:39 a.m. local time. Five people were taken to the hospital, two of them with serious injuries who were employees of a health insurance company.

Police warned “the suspect is dangerous” but added “this case is not a terrorist act.” They said it wasn’t clear whether he still had the chainsaw.

A rescue helicopter was brought in to help the victims and the old town in Schaffhausen was sealed off.

By Monday afternoon, Swiss police had identified the suspect, whom they described as being about 6 feet, 3 inches tall with a bald head and an unkempt appearance.

They did not name him but issued old photos of the suspect wearing a green T-shirt and black jeans, standing among trees.

The man was believed to be driving a white Volkswagen minivan Monday with registration plates from the southeastern Swiss canton (state) of Graubuenden.

A health insurance company with a ground-floor office in the Schaffhausen building where the attack took place said two of its employees had to be taken to a hospital.

“We can confirm that a man with a chainsaw came into the agency and seriously wounded two of our employees,” said Christina Wettstein, a spokeswoman for insurer CSS. “They are undergoing operations at the moment and we don’t know how they are.”

The company doesn’t know yet whether the other three wounded people were customers or passers-by, she added. It also doesn’t know whether the attacker was a customer.

Schaffhausen is a city of about 36,000 people north of Zurich, near the border with Germany.</s>A man wielding a chainsaw in northern Switzerland has injured several people, police have told CNN, in what they said was an ongoing situation.

The incident happened in the historic town of Schaffhausen near the country's northern border with Germany.

Police did not give any further details.

Images of the scene on social media show a cobble-stoned street cordoned off, with police vehicles and ambulances in the area.

A journalist in Schaffhausen, Marco Latzer, told CNN that the incident occurred at around 11:30 a.m. (5:30 a.m. ET) local time and that he understood the perpetrator was "still on the run."

He said that the incident was a shock to the people of Schaffhausen.

"It's a very peaceful place ... a quiet place normally," he said.

"It's kind of a big thing for this town of course and many people here are really shocked."</s>A manhunt is underway in the Swiss town of Schaffhausen after a chainsaw-wielding assailant injured five people, two seriously, in a violent attack. Police say they are not treating the attack as a terrorist incident. Police identified the suspect and confirmed the weapon he used. The suspect is described as dangerous and bald with an"unkempt" appearance. Measuring about 1 meter 90 centimeters (6ft 2in) in height, he's believed to be driving a white Volkswagen Caddy.The vehicle has now been located by police, reported Tages Anzeiger. Images of the suspect have been released.Police say five people are injured. They were alerted to the scene just after 10.30am local time after the suspect entered a CSS health insurance office.Parts of the old town are sealed off due to a "special situation," according to police. Ambulance teams and police are on the scene and rescue helicopters are circling overhead, according to a police spokesperson</s>A chainsaw-wielding attacker injured five people -- two seriously -- at an office building in Switzerland Monday morning, leading Swiss police on a manhunt to find the suspect.

Police sealed off the area in Schaffhausen after receiving a report of an attack about 10:40 a.m. local time. A shop owner in the area told local news site Blick a man with a chainsaw was walking through the streets terrorizing shoppers.

Police said the attack "is not a terrorist act," but warned residents to avoid the suburban town as they search for the attacker who fled the scene after the incident.

Police spokeswoman Cindy Beer told SRF television that authorities "can't say exactly what happened at this point."

"We just know that a person wounded several people," she added.

Police identified the attacker as a bald man, about 6 feet 2 inches tall with an unkempt appearance. They believe he is driving a Volkswagen with Swiss license plates.

The building where the attack took place is home to a bookshop and insurance and lawyers' offices. It wasn't immediately clear who or what the man's target was.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.</s>SCHAFFHAUSEN (Switzerland)
• A chainsaw-wielding loner who mostly lived in the woods stormed into an insurance office in a Swiss town yesterday, wounding two staff members and three other people before fleeing, police said.

Police put the centre of Schaffhausen into lockdown and launched a manhunt for the suspect they identified as 51-year-old Franz Wrousis. They said the assault was "not an act of terror", but also not random.

"This is not an attack against a hypothetical person. This is clearly against people from the insurer," Major Ravi Landolt told a news conference, adding that the exact motive was still under investigation.

The Swiss authorities distributed pictures of the suspect, whom Chief Prosecutor Peter Sticher described as "aggressive, dangerous and mentally conspicuous".

They warned residents to avoid contact with the man, who they said had twice been convicted of weapons offences and was believed to be living in the wild since moving out of a home in the eastern Swiss canton of Grisons.

Two of the victims were seriously injured but their lives were not in danger. Swiss health insurer CSS said two of its employees were injured when the man charged into its office in the centre of Schaffhausen, a mediaeval town of 36,000 people. It was not known if the three others injured were customers or passers-by.

Police recovered a vehicle sought in connection with the incident.</s>CHAFFHAUSEN, Switzerland — Police are conducting a manhunt for a chainsaw-wielding attacker who injured five people, including at least one seriously, in northern Switzerland.

Police have said they do not believe Monday’s attack in the historic town of Schaffhausen is terrorism related, but warned the public that the man at large is “dangerous.”

Shauffhausen public prosecutor Peter Sticher said the attacker had been identified as 51-year-old Franz Wrousis, a Swiss national with no fixed address who lives in a forest.

Sticher described him as a 6 ft 2 in-tall bald white man, while police described him as a man of “untidy appearance.”

The attack began in an insurance office, Sticher said, and a Volkswagen van belonging to Wrousis has been found.

Wrousis has been charged twice in the past for having illegal weapons, in 2014 and 2016, but he wasn’t sentenced to prison, according to Sticher.

Images of the scene show a cobble-stoned street cordoned off, with police vehicles and ambulances in the area.

A journalist in Schaffhausen, Marco Latzer, told CNN that helicopters also responded at the scene.

He said that the incident was a shock to the people of Schaffhausen, an old town near the Swiss-German border.

“It’s kind of a big thing for this town of course and many people here are really shocked,” he said.</s>Five people have been injured, two seriously, in an apparent chainsaw attack in Schaffhausen, Switzerland.

 Police have sealed off streets and shoppers are barricading themselves inside businesses at the historic town, which is popular with tourists.

 The attacker is believed to have used a chainsaw during the rampage.

 One witness said: “A man with a chain saw is supposed to be on the road.”

 Police refused to confirm or rule out the use of a chainsaw during a hastily-organised press conference.

 An elderly man suffering serious head injuries is among those injured in the attack.

 Another witness said police had now “completely sealed off the old town”.

 A major manhunt is now underway for the male suspect. Police have urged people to avoid the area until the operation is completed.

 One shop owner said a customer was injured in the attack the town, located near the German border.

 He added: “Nobody can leave the stores anymore.”

 Another shop owner said: “It’s weird that something like this happens in Schaffhausen.”

 Officers said they are dealing with a “special situation”. Police helicopters are now at the scene.
At least five people are injured, two seriously, after a man attacks people with a chainsaw in Schaffhausen, Switzerland. A manhunt is underway for the suspect.