Man attacks and injures three children

It is an insane act at midday that turns a day care center manager and an employee of the migration office into courageous rescuers. On Tuesday afternoon, a young Chinese man suddenly attacked several children with a stabbing weapon near a daycare center in Zurich’s District 11.

Three five-year-old boys were injured in the knife attack, the Zurich city police wrote in a statement. The rescue workers had to take one of the boys to the hospital with serious injuries, the other two sustained moderate injuries.

Shortly after 12 p.m., police forces were alerted to the attack on Berninastrasse. Heavily armed police then cordon off a large area around the crime scene. A few hundred meters from the crime scene, heavily armed emergency services searched a student dormitory a little later. The police also have a drone flying over the area.

Perpetrator overpowered by after-school care director and a helper

There is currently only little information available about the crime. One realization is that without the courageous efforts of a woman and a man, things could have turned out much worse. In a statement, the Zurich city police wrote that, according to initial findings, an employee of the daycare center was on the way to lunch and afternoon care with several children. The group was outdoors when the young Chinese man suddenly approached and attacked the children with a stabbing weapon.

The after-school care manager managed to react. Together with a helper, she was able to overpower the attacker and hold him until the emergency services arrived.

The helper is an employee of the Zurich Migration Office. Upon request, the office will confirm corresponding statements from an eyewitness. A spokesman writes that he supported the courageous after-school care director.

The migration office is housed in the same building complex as the daycare center. The eyewitness told the NZZ that she first heard children screaming. She later saw the migration office employee holding the perpetrator. A knife fell to the ground.

In recordings published by “Tele Züri” and “Blick” on Tuesday, the man wearing a T-shirt can be seen kneeling on the suspect. In the same photos you can also see a white piece of paper lying on the ground. Eyewitnesses report that the alleged perpetrator dropped the note.

After the crime, the suspect was taken to a police station, where investigators questioned him. In the next 48 hours, the public prosecutor’s office must decide whether to apply for pre-trial detention in his case to the responsible coercive measures court.

Not much is known about the motive or background of the perpetrator. However, a terrorist motive is unlikely to be the main focus; the police assume that the perpetrator was a lone perpetrator. The only thing known about the identity of the alleged perpetrator is that he is a 23-year-old Chinese man. It is unclear whether the perpetrator had a connection to the after-school care center or the kindergarten.

According to reports, the young man is a student. However, the authorities have not yet confirmed this. However, it would explain why emergency services raided a nearby student dormitory shortly after the incident.

Increase in knife attacks in China

The investigators are also likely to be concerned with a phenomenon in the country of origin of the alleged perpetrator in the investigation that is now underway. The authorities in China have been struggling with an increase in knife attacks in educational institutions for some time. Although security precautions at schools have been massively increased in recent years, such attacks continue to occur at kindergartens, schools and universities.

In most cases the attacks are carried out with knives, but occasionally with chemical agents or explosives. There are no official statistics on this. Based on media reports, the NZZ counted at least 32 such attacks between 2010 and 2023.

In most cases, the gunmen in China are not students, but men between the ages of 20 and 40. The perpetrators often suffer from mental illnesses. For perpetrators of violence, personal disappointments, frustration or social isolation are released in the form of violence against the weakest in society. When asked by the NZZ, the police did not want to comment further on any possible reasons for the crime. It is still far too early for that.

Parents questioned by police

After the crime, many frightened parents rushed to the daycare center. A father tells the NZZ that at first the parents were not allowed to see the children in the after-school care center. The police later begin questioning the parents. Parents and children are allowed to leave the scene later in the afternoon.

The authorities offer several care teams to look after both the children and their parents. The after-school care center manager is also being looked after and questioned by the police. A hotline has also been set up for relatives on 044 411 71 17.

The investigators also call on specialists from the Forensic Institute and the Institute of Forensic Medicine in Zurich to carry out extensive forensic investigation. The Zurich cantonal police are now taking over the investigation. This is common in cases involving serious bodily harm.