The police in Switzerland’s largest city said they had arrested a 23-year-old man after a midday stabbing attack.
Three boys were injured, one seriously, in a stabbing attack near a daycare center in Zurich on Tuesday, the local police said.
The police said in a statement they had arrested a 23-year-old Chinese man in connection with the attack. The children, who the police said were 5 years old, had been walking with a worker from a nearby daycare center around midday, when they were suddenly stabbed.
The day care worker worked quickly to overpower the attacker, the police said. A bystander helped and restrained the attacker until the police arrived. The police added that there was no longer any danger to the public. They did not specify the weapon used.
The boys were taken to the hospital. One was seriously injured; two had moderate injuries.
Photos published by local Swiss news media showed swarms of law enforcement officers and several ambulances around the child care facility in Zurich, the largest city in Switzerland. The local media reported that the police were escorting parents to the child care facility, and that some of the officers were heavily armed.
The Zurich city police said in the statement that they had been notified about the attack shortly after noon on Tuesday. Forensic specialists arrived on the scene to collect evidence, the police said. Mental health specialists were there to help people who were involved in the violent incident.
Violent attacks are rare in Switzerland.
In 2021, the country had one of the lowest homicide rates in Western Europe, according to data from the United Nations, with 0.5 victims of intentional homicide per 100,0000 people. Last year, there were about 47,000 violent crimes in Switzerland, which has about 8.5 million people, according to Swiss government data.
The country recorded 53 homicides in 2023.
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