Man arrested after shooting with two dead in Sion VS
Published: Monday, Dec 11th 2023, 19:10
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A woman and a man were killed in a shooting in Sion VS on Monday. Another woman was seriously injured but is out of danger. The police were able to arrest the suspected perpetrator after a manhunt lasting several hours. The 36-year-old surrendered and confessed to the crime.
The man shot at the two women and the man at two different locations in the Valais capital shortly after 7 a.m. for reasons as yet unknown, as the cantonal police and the public prosecutor's office stated at a media conference on Monday evening.
The perpetrator first opened fire on a woman in a parking lot in Rue Oscar-Bider in Sion. She suffered a fatal gunshot wound. A few minutes later, a man was also shot at a second crime scene, while a woman was also injured by a gunshot.
The victims killed were a 34-year-old woman and a 41-year-old man from central Valais. The 49-year-old survivor of the shooting was taken to hospital with serious but non-life-threatening injuries. She is a woman from Valais who lives in the region.
According to the police, the perpetrator knew his victims. The man who was killed and the woman who was injured were employees of the perpetrator at a plastering and painting company in Sion. The relationship between the perpetrator and the woman who was killed was not revealed at the media conference.
Not a relationship offense
Olivier Elsig, the senior public prosecutor responsible for the central Valais region, cited arguments between the perpetrator and the victims as a probable motive for the crime. Elsig did not elaborate to the media on the nature of these disputes. However, he denied media reports that the bloody crime was a relationship crime.
Elsig went on to say that there were enough elements at this stage to suggest that the crime had been planned. The public prosecutor's office opened an investigation into murder, with a subsidiary charge of premeditated murder. The man was to be questioned by the police that evening and then remanded in custody.
The man was known to the judicial authorities, but was not considered a high-risk person, Elsig continued. These cases were primarily about non-serious matters such as defamation and threats. In the majority of these cases, the man was also the plaintiff.
The man possessed two registered weapons, as Christian Varone, commander of the Valais cantonal police, told the media.
Before the shooting, the perpetrator had apparently sent a video to several people. Senior public prosecutor Elsig did not want to comment in detail on the content of the film. However, he noted that the perpetrator had spoken of difficulties he was having with various people. This subsequently helped the police to protect other people who might be at risk.
Tat gestanden
The perpetrator fled in his car after the bloody attack. The Valais police searched for him with a large contingent and were also supported by colleagues from Vaud. According to police commander Varone, around 120 Valais police officers were involved in the operation.
The wanted man was arrested by the inter-municipal police of Crans-Montana in the St-Léonard region at around 16:00 in the afternoon. The man offered no resistance during the arrest and immediately confessed to the crime, it was reported at the media conference.
The Valais cantonal police had previously asked the public for help with a photo of the suspected perpetrator published on their website, with his name and details of the possible getaway car. Police commander Varone said that the public's help had assisted the police in the manhunt.
©Keystone/SDA
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