Bank employee shoots his bosses

Two policeman outside the bank building in Zurich Keystone

An employee at a Zurich bank has shot and killed two of his bosses before turning the gun on himself.

Police said the incident occurred on Monday morning and appeared to be related to a workplace dispute.

Police said the gunman, a 56-year-old financial adviser, opened fire on two senior managers at the Zurich Cantonal Bank in central Zurich shortly after arriving at work on Monday.

The man, who was married with children, fired several times at the bank’s head of financial planning and the chief financial adviser, said Zurich city police spokesman, Marco Cortesi.

The two victims, aged 45 and 41, suffered serious head injuries and were taken to hospital. They later died of their wounds.

After the shooting, the attacker returned to his own office where he shot himself. He was declared dead at the scene.

Dispute

“The motive appears to be a dispute between the gunman and his bosses,” said Cortesi. He added that the nature of the dispute was not clear.

Police added that the gunman had ignored other employees, who were working nearby.

The bank said the man had been employed there since March 2001, and had a good record as an employee.

The 80 employees working in the building were evacuated after the incident, and the area, where the bank is located, was closed to traffic for several hours.

Three years ago, a lone gunman with a grudge shot and killed 14 people in the regional parliament in the town of Zug before shooting himself.

swissinfo with agencies

Key facts

The gunman was a 56-year-old financial adviser, employed since 2001.
The two victims, aged 45 and 41, suffered serious head injuries and later died in hospital.
In a similar incident in 1986, a disgruntled employee working for the local authorities shot and killed four co-workers, and seriously injured another. The gunman, Günther Tschanun, was sentenced to 20 years in prison.