Prayer hall attacker found dead

GENEVA: The man who went on a shooting rampage at a Muslim prayer hall in Zurich before committing suicide was already a killer and appeared obsessed with the occult, Swiss police said Tuesday.

The black-clad assailant, identified as a 24-year-old Swiss national of Ghanaian origin, committed suicide after Monday’s spree and his body was found on a nearby river bank, police said.

Christiane Lentjes Meili, police chief for the canton of Zurich, told reporters that the unnamed gunman had stabbed a former friend to death at a playground only the day before.

“There is no doubt that this man, who shot himself nearby after the attack on the mosque, is responsible for the two acts,” she said.

“We don’t know anything about the motives,” she said, adding that the shooter appeared to be deeply interested in the occult. “Corresponding symbols have been found at his home,” Lentjes Meili said, without elaborating.

According to investigators, there was no indication that the gunman had any links to terrorism or far-right movements.

He also had no known connection to the Islamic Centre. The man burst into the centre and opened fire on Monday evening, injuring three worshippers, aged 30, 35 and 56, who were among around a dozen people inside at the time.