This article is a list of mass shootings in Switzerland. Mass shootings are incidents of firearm-related violence that result in at least four people being killed or injured. The data in this article includes the death of perpetrators, including suicides or the killing of the perpetrator by police. Inclusion of perpetrator casualties and injured victims is at variance to some but not all definitions of mass shooting. The vast majority of mass shootings in Switzerland that are noted in this article are familicides, not public mass shootings. Despite its high rates of gun ownership and liberal firearms laws, Switzerland has been noted to have low rates of gun-related crime.[1] [2] [3]
| width=12% | Date | width=6% | Location | width=7% | Canton | width=5% | Dead | width=5% | Injured | width=5% | Total | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Commugny | Canton of Vaud | 3 | 1 | 4 | Commugny familicide A man shot and killed three family members with a rifle before attempting suicide.[4] | |||||||
| Hellbühl | Canton of Lucerne | 4 | 0 | 4 | A man shot and killed a couple and their two farmhands. The perpetrator then tried unsuccessfully to set the house on fire, while seven children and three adults were still inside. The gunman was later sentenced to death and executed.[5] [6] | |||||||
| Romanshorn | Canton of Thurgau | 7 | 7 | 14 | Romanshorn shooting A man fired into the street from the window of his apartment, killing six people and wounding six. After a siege, the gunman fled into the forest, where he killed another person before being wounded and arrested.[7] | |||||||
| Territet | Canton of Vaud | 4 | 0 | 4 | A man shot and killed three family members with a revolver before killing himself.[8] | |||||||
| Lumino | Canton of Ticino | 6 | 8 | 14 | A man killed five people and wounded eight others in a shooting spree. The gunman killed himself.[9] [10] | |||||||
| Zürich | Canton of Zürich | 5 | 1 | 6 | After his wife petitioned for divorce, a man killed four family members and wounded another before committing suicide.[11] | |||||||
| Geneva | Canton of Geneva | 13 | 65 | 78 | November 1932 Geneva shooting Swiss Army soldiers fired into a crowd of protesters, killing thirteen and wounding sixty-five.[12] | |||||||
| Zürich | Canton of Zürich | 7 | 0 | 7 | A man killed six family members and himself.[13] [14] | |||||||
| Fideris | Canton of Grisons | 4 | 0 | 4 | A mentally ill man fatally shot three people at random before later killing himself.[15] | |||||||
| Emmental | Canton of Bern | 2 | 6 | 8 | A man shot and wounded seven neighbors before killing himself.[16] One of the neighbors later died of his wounds.[17] | |||||||
| Rüti | Canton of Zürich | 3 | 1 | 4 | A man killed his son and two other people before attempting suicide.[18] | |||||||
| Sankt Josef | Nidwalden | 0 | 5 | 5 | A man shot and wounded five people at random, including a pregnant woman, two of her children and a married couple.[19] | |||||||
| Kloten | Canton of Zürich | 2 | 6 | 8 | El Al Flight 432 attack Four terrorists shot and killed one person and wounded six others aboard an El Al flight. One perpetrator was killed by a security agent.[20] | |||||||
| Canton of Zürich | 2 | 2 | 4 | A gardener at a tuberculosis sanitarium killed two employees and wounded two others with a pistol before surrendering to police.[21] | ||||||||
| Seewen | Canton of Solothurn | 5 | 0 | 5 | Seewen murder case Five family members were killed at their home.[22] | |||||||
| Forel | Canton of Vaud | 5 | 1 | 6 | A man shot his wife, his three children, and his girlfriend before killing himself. His wife was the only survivor.[23] | |||||||
| Rietheim/Koblenz | Canton of Aargau | 3 | 2 | 5 | A far-right extremist shot and killed two police officers and wounded two others at multiple locations, then killed himself during a manhunt.[24] | |||||||
| Castaneda | Canton of Grisons | 2 | 3 | 5 | A heavily armed gunman shot and killed one person and wounded three others before killing himself following a police search.[25] | |||||||
| Geneva | Canton of Geneva | 4 | 0 | 4 | A man shot and killed three family members with a pistol before killing himself.[26] | |||||||
| Cortaillod | Canton of Neuchâtel | 0 | 6 | 6 | A man shot and wounded five co-workers at his workplace before attempting suicide.[27] | |||||||
| Zürich | Canton of Zürich | 4 | 1 | 5 | 1986 Zürich shooting A man killed four colleagues and wounded a fifth at his workplace.[28] The perpetrator was sentenced to 20 years in prison and was paroled on good behavior after serving 14 years in 2000.[29] He died in 2015 in a bicycle accident.[30] | |||||||
| Geneva | Canton of Geneva | 1 | 4 | 5 | A man shot and wounded four people with a pistol at two locations before killing himself.[31] | |||||||
| Zürich | Canton of Zürich | 0 | 4 | 4 | A thief, two police officers, and an uninvolved person were shot and wounded during a gunfight between the thief and police at Zürich Hauptbahnhof.[32] | |||||||
| Rickenbach/Zürich | Canton of Thurgau/Canton of Zürich | 6 | 4 | 10 | A man killed his family in Rickenbach before traveling to Zürich and shooting six people, two fatally. He fled the scene and later killed himself in Gossau.[33] [34] | |||||||
| Val-d'Illiez | Canton of Valais | 6 | 0 | 6 | A 42-year-old man shot to death all five members of his family before killing himself in an Alpine cottage.[35] [36] | |||||||
| Lugano District | Canton of Ticino | 6 | 6 | 12 | Rivera massacre A man opened fire at multiple homes, killing six and wounding six others before being arrested.[37] | |||||||
| Muttenz | Basel-Landschaft | 3 | 2 | 5 | A man shot at his ex-girlfriend and her family members, killing three and wounding one, before attempting suicide.[38] | |||||||
| Eriswil | Canton of Bern | 4 | 0 | 4 | A man shot and killed three family members inside a farmhouse before killing himself.[39] | |||||||
| Bern | Canton of Bern | 4 | 0 | 4 | A man opened fire at his workplace, killing three people (including two family members) before killing himself. | |||||||
| Sementina | Canton of Ticino | 4 | 0 | 4 | A man fatally shot his wife and two children before killing himself.[40] | |||||||
| Bern | Canton of Bern | 1 | 7 | 8 | As Kurds attacked a Turkish embassy, guards opened fire, killing one demonstrator and wounding seven other people, including six Kurds and a city police officer.[41] | |||||||
| Lucerne | Canton of Lucerne | 2 | 4 | 6 | A man fired two shots from a shotgun at his ex-wife during a celebration at a women's shelter, killing his wife and wounding four other women. The shooter killed himself with a third shot.[42] | |||||||
| Cheiry | Canton of Fribourg | 21 | 0 | 21 | Cheiry massacre Twenty-one members of a cult were shot and killed during a mass murder-suicide.[43] | |||||||
| St. Gallen | Canton of St. Gallen | 1 | 4 | 5 | A man opened fire at his workplace, killing one person and wounding four. | |||||||
| Winterthur | Canton of Zürich | 1 | 3 | 4 | Four people were shot, one fatally, when an Albanian man shot at other Albanian immigrants in a club.[44] | |||||||
| Schaffhausen | Canton of Schaffhausen | 1 | 3 | 4 | A man shot and wounded three people in a domestic dispute before killing himself.[45] | |||||||
| Frauenfeld | Canton of Thurgau | 0 | 4 | 4 | Four people were shot in a gunfight outside a brothel.[46] | |||||||
| Bern | Canton of Bern | 4 | 0 | 4 | Four men were found shot dead at a tea room.[47] | |||||||
| Zürich | Canton of Zürich | 1 | 5 | 6 | Three gunmen shot and killed one person and wounded five others at a cafe in Oerlikon.[48] | |||||||
| Seftigen/Thun | Canton of Bern | 1 | 3 | 4 | A man shot and wounded two relatives in Seftigen before traveling to Thun and fatally shooting his wife. He attempted suicide along the A6 motorway.[49] |
| width=12% | Date | width=6% | Location | width=7% | Canton | width=5% | Dead | width=5% | Injured | width=5% | Total | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Au | Canton of Zürich | 4 | 0 | 4 | A man shot and killed his wife and two children before killing himself.[50] | |||||||
| Zug | Canton of Zug | 15 | 18 | 33 | Zug massacre A man entered the Parliament of the Canton of Zug and shot thirty-two people, killing fourteen. The shooter killed himself.[51] | |||||||
| Melano | Republic and Canton of Ticino | 4 | 0 | 4 | A bank employee shot and killed his wife and two school-age children before killing himself.[52] | |||||||
| Lausanne | Canton of Vaud | 2 | 2 | 4 | A man shot three people in a cinema, killing one, before killing himself.[53] | |||||||
| Pratteln | Basel-Landschaft | 3 | 1 | 4 | A man killed three and wounded one in a domestic dispute before fleeing.[54] | |||||||
| Witikon | Canton of Zürich | 4 | 0 | 4 | A family of four was found dead in Witikon. All were shot, as were two dogs. According to the police investigation, the parents planned the crime because of financial problems.[55] | |||||||
| Escholzmatt | Canton of Lucerne | 5 | 0 | 5 | A man shot and killed four people, including three family members, with a pistol, before killing himself.[56] | |||||||
| Lenk im Simmental | Canton of Bern | 4 | 0 | 4 | A man shot and killed three family members with a pistol, before killing himself.[57] | |||||||
| Muri | Canton of Aargau | 4 | 0 | 4 | A man shot and killed three family members before killing himself.[58] | |||||||
| Les Crosets | Canton of Valais | 4 | 1 | 5 | Les Crosets shooting A man armed with a handgun shot and killed his pregnant wife, her brother and seriously wounded her mother before killing himself.[59] | |||||||
| Baden | Canton of Aargau | 1 | 4 | 5 | A man entered a hotel and opened fire, killing one person and wounding four. The shooter was arrested.[60] | |||||||
| Carouge | Canton of Geneva | 4 | 0 | 4 | A man shot and killed three family members before killing himself.[61] | |||||||
| Daillon | Canton of Valais | 3 | 2 | 5 | A man killed three people and wounded two before being wounded by police and arrested.[62] | |||||||
| Menznau | Canton of Lucerne | 5 | 5 | 10 | 2013 Menznau shooting A man opened fire at his workplace, killing four people and wounding five before dying of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.[63] | |||||||
| Würenlingen | Canton of Aargau | 5 | 0 | 5 | A man killed four relatives before killing himself.[64] | |||||||
| Zürich | Canton of Zürich | 1 | 3 | 4 | Zürich Islamic center shooting A gunman wounded three people at an Islamic center before killing himself. The day before the shooting, the gunman stabbed to death a former friend.[65] | |||||||
| Grandson | Canton of Vaud | 2 | 3 | 5 | Two people were killed and three others were wounded after a drug trade related-shooting incident in an apartment.[66] [67] | |||||||
| Yverdon-les-Bains | Canton of Vaud | 5 | 0 | 5 | Police suspect that a man shot and killed his wife and three daughters before killing himself.[68] | |||||||