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An attacker wounded two women in a Lugano shopping center. What is known of the attack so far.
What do we know about the course of events? On Tuesday afternoon, shortly after 2 pm, there was a knife fight at a department store on Piazza Dante in Lugano. A woman indiscriminately attacked several people at a Manor branch. According to initial findings, the perpetrator grabbed a woman by the neck while seriously wounding a second woman in the neck with a stabbing weapon. The seriously injured victim is not in danger of death. Two other people were slightly injured. “I heard screams and turned around. Then I saw a woman on the ground, in the middle of a pool of blood, “said an eyewitness” La Regione “aloud.
Was the perpetrator arrested? The woman was detained by a brave couple, pulled by her hair, and held until police arrived. You are now in custody. Ticino Prime Minister Norman Gobbi thanked the hasty couple for their brave intervention, which may have prevented further bloodshed.
What do we know about women? The attacker is 28 years old and lives in the Lugano area. Fedpol knows her from terrorist and police investigations. The woman with a jihadist background had already been noticed in 2017. According to the “Tagesanzeiger”, she is a Swiss convert.
Where did the murder weapon come from? Ticino media reports that the attacker stole the knife from the mall’s home department just before the crime.
Was it a terrorist attack? Canton Ticino police and the Federal Police Office (Fedpol) assume an alleged terrorist motive, as Fedpol spokeswoman Cathy Maret told SRF. According to witness statements, the attacker shouted during the attack that he belonged to the terrorist group IS. The Federal Prosecutor’s Office has opened proceedings. She is being investigated, among other things, for alleged intentional homicide, serious bodily injury and for violating the ban on extremist groups Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State (IS). In addition, it is clarified if there were confidants or even accomplices.
Is there a connection to other terrorist attacks? Nicoletta della Valle, head of the Federal Police Office (Fedpol), compared the crime to the knife attack in Morges (VD). A Portuguese man was stabbed to death there in September. Fedpol also started proceedings there. It is not yet clear whether the crime in Ticino is related to Morges (VD). Or if there are also references to the latest attacks in Vienna or Nice. Ticino President Norman Gobbi assumes that women have become radicalized: “The situation is extremely serious.”
How does politics react? Federal President Simonetta Sommaruga telephoned the President of the Ticino government to express her sympathy for the women affected and assure the people of Ticino of the support of the federal government. Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz condemned the “Islamist terrorist attack in Lugano”. His thoughts are with the victims, the Vienna head of government wrote on Twitter and assured Switzerland of his support “in these difficult times.” Together we will confront Islamist terrorism in Europe and defend our own values.
