Swiss police probe possible terror motive after 2 hurt in supermarket attack

28-year-old woman arrested after attacking two other women, cutting one’s neck with a knife and attempting to choke the other

By AFP 24 November 2020, 8:55 pm

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Illustrative: The 'Cardiocentro' of the Civico hospital in Lugano, Switzerland, July 11, 2004. (AP Photo/Keystone, Karl Mathis)

GENEVA, Switzerland — A Swiss woman attacked two other women in a supermarket in southern Switzerland on Tuesday, regional police said, adding that “terrorist motives” could not be excluded.

Police in Switzerland’s Italian-speaking Ticino region said they had been alerted to a stabbing in a department store in the city of Lugano shortly before 2:00 p.m. local time.

Initial investigations had established that a 28-year-old Swiss woman had attacked two other women, attempting to choke one with her hands, and injuring a second by cutting her neck with a knife.

Other shoppers managed to subdue the attacker, who was arrested, the police statement said.

An initial medical evaluation showed that one of the victims had suffered serious but not life-threatening injuries, while the other had minor injuries, police said.

Regional police said it did “not exclude terrorist motives,” adding that it was working with federal authorities and the local Lugano police on the case.