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Shooting at an Islamic Centre in Zurich | ASHARQ AL-AWSAT English Archive 2005 -2017
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Swiss police have said that a man stormed into an Islamic centre near the main train station in Zurich on Monday evening and opened fire on worshippers. Three people were injured and the body of the attacker was later found near the site of the incident. According to Swiss media, police identified the attacker as a man of Ghanaian origins who believed in magic and occult sciences but they did not give further details.

The head of criminal investigations for the Zurich cantonal police Christiane Lentjes Meili told a news conference that “We don’t know anything about the motives and there were indications that the man had taken an interest in occult sciences”.

Western media reports stated earlier that police found the body wrapped in a white blanket near a river under a bridge that is close to the Islamic centre. According to a police statement, “a person entered the Islamic centre after 5pm and there were several worshipers in the hall. He then began to shoot them”. Police said that three people aged 30, 35 and 56 years were injured but they did not specify their identities or the extent of their injuries.

Police cordoned off the site of the incident and the bridge where the body was found. According to Swiss media, dozens of worshipers from Morocco, Somalia and Eritrea usually frequent the centre. Police said that a new statement will be issued in the event that new evidence comes to light and added that the investigation is being dealt with by the Zurich cantonal police and the public prosecution. Swiss media have accused several mosques in Switzerland of encouraging extremism, especially among young people.