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{{Short description|2001 mass shooting in Switzerland}}
{{unreferenced|date=April 2007}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2018}}
{{Infobox civilian attack
| title = Zug massacre
| location = {{lang|de|Parlamentsgebäude}} of ], ], Switzerland
| map_caption = Location of the Zug parliament building within the Canton of Zug and Switzerland
| coordinates = {{Coord|47.1678|8.5147|type:event_region:CH|display=it}}
| time-begin = 10:30{{nbsp}}a.m.
| date = {{Start date and age|2001|09|27|df=yes}}
| image = Regierungsgebaeude Zug 2.jpg
| image_upright = 1.2
| alt = The front of the parliament building, white with several windows
| caption = The parliament building in Zug in 2012, almost 11 years after the massacre
| map = {{Location map|Canton of Zug#Switzerland
|float = center
|label = Zug
| lat_deg = 47.1678
| lon_deg = 8.5147
}}
| time-end = 10:34{{nbsp}}a.m.
| target = Cantonal Minister {{ill|Robert Bisig|de}} and other ]
| type = ], ], ]
| fatalities = 15 (including the perpetrator)
| injuries = 18
| perp = Friedrich Leibacher
| motive = Retaliation for perceived mistreatment by the Zug Parliament
| weapons = * ] assault rifle
* ] pump-action shotgun
* ] revolver
* ] semi-automatic pistol
* ]
}}


The '''Zug massacre''' was a ] that took place on 27 September 2001 in the ] of the ], in ]. 57-year-old Friedrich Leibacher shot and killed 14 people in the parliament before killing himself. He was armed with a civilian version of a ] ], a ], two ]s, a ] and was wearing a ]. All of the weapons used were legally obtained. The massacre is the deadliest ] in Swiss history and the first time a Swiss politician was killed since the 19th century.
The '''Zug massacre''' took place ] ] in the city of ]
(], ]) in the canton's ]. 14 politicians
were shot dead by ], who shortly after killed himself.
During the antecedent years, Leibacher draw the attention on himself by an intense
use of appellates. He felt discriminated and dismissed by constitutional state,
that he thought, he was constrained to this crime.
Transporting multiple weapons, including the civil version of a
] (assault rifle of ]), a ]-], a
] and a ], using a selfmade police vest, Leibacher was able to enter the building without any problem.


Leibacher had a long history of criminal actions, among them several instances of assault, ] and ], as well as violent threats. Despite this, his ] was expunged and he was approved to buy firearms. Three years before the massacre, he was sued for threatening a man with a gun. Afterwards he was under police surveillance and became embroiled in a legal battle with the Canton of Zug. He became grievanced against the legal system, particularly blaming Cantonal Minister {{ill|Robert Bisig|de}}. He left a letter with these accusations, titled "Day of Reckoning for the Zug Mafia". Bisig himself survived the attack.
In the hall, where the members of the parliament held a meeting, he shot around.
He killed three "Regierungsräte" and eleven "Kantonsräte", hurt numerous politicians
as well as a few journalists, some heavily. He fired 91 rounds. Further, he ignited a
selfmade bomb. Actually, his main goal was ], who ironically stayed unharmed.
Leibacher left a suicide note titled "Tag des Zornes für die Zuger Mafia" ("Days of wrath for the Zug mafia"). Seemingly, he thought, that there was a plot against him.


In the aftermath of the shooting, there were changes in building security policies in Switzerland, which had previously been lax. In addition, new practices on how to handle people who make threats were instituted in several cantons. There were no changes in ] as a result of the shooting, with the discussion in the aftermath having focused more on building security. After the shooting and several other violent incidents, a referendum was held in 2011 on more severe gun laws. It was rejected by 56.3% of voters.
In that dimension, this assault was the first of its type in Switzerland and one of the Canton
of Zug's history's unhappiest days. Whole ] was shocked and in dolor.
Worldwide, especially in the ] and in the ], there was a storm of protest about this act and the politicians were in dolor because of the death of their colleagues.


==Aftereffects== == Background ==
{{See also|Firearms regulation in Switzerland}}


The massacre occurred sixteen days after the ] in the United States, which killed 2,996 people.<ref name="Haefliger2001">{{Cite news |last=Haefliger |first=Markus |date=2001-09-27 |title=Zug killings trigger debate about gun laws |url=https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/life-aging/zug-killings-trigger-debate-about-gun-laws/2275128 |access-date=2024-12-29 |work=] |location=Bern |language=en-GB}}</ref><ref name="Osborn2001b">{{Cite news |last=Osborn |first=Andrew |date=2001-09-30 |title=Murderer with four guns and a grudge |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2001/sep/30/theobserver1 |access-date=2023-12-10 |work=] |location=London |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref> In 2001, around 500,000 people in Switzerland possessed firearms as a result of the Swiss ], which requires men over 20 to be ready for a call to service.<ref name="Haefliger2001" /> Switzerland has one of the highest gun ownership rates in the world, and in 2011, there were 3.4 million ]s in the country compared to the population of 8 million.<ref name="BBCNews2013">{{Cite news |date=2013-02-08 |title=Switzerland guns: Living with firearms the Swiss way |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-21379912 |access-date=2024-12-29 |work=] |language=en-GB}}</ref> Despite these figures, the country has relatively low gun-related crime with one gun-related death for every 200,000 people.<ref name="BBCNews2013" /> Switzerland then had a relatively permissive policy when it came to public access to administrative buildings.{{sfn|Hurka|2017|p=145}}
As an aftereffect, many local ]s increased their security, if they even already had any security plans, or, if not, installed security measures. Some established a strict access control for visitors and security passports for the politicians.


== Perpetrator ==
On the national level, the ''Sektion Sicherheit Parlamentsgebäude'' (section for the security of parliament buildings) was established.
] |issue=226 |agency=]}}</ref>|left|235x235px|alt=Leibacher sitting on a chair, staring to the right]]
as part of the ] (national security service), a police unit of 35, which
Friedrich Heinz "Fritz" Leibacher,{{sfn|Sinai|2016|p=214}}<ref name="Osborn2001b" /> a 57-year-old Swiss man, was the perpetrator of the massacre. He was born in Zug on 21 July 1944, with two brothers in a middle-class family.{{sfn|Nyffeler|Schwyter|2003|p=19}}<ref name="Baur2003">{{Cite news |last=Baur |first=Alex |date=2003-01-16 |title=Friedrich Leibacher: Abgrundtief böse |trans-title=Friedrich Leibacher: Deeply evil |url=https://weltwoche.ch/story/abgrundtief-boese/ |url-access=subscription |access-date=2025-01-01 |work=] |location=Zurich |language=de |issn=0043-2660}}</ref> His father said when he started school it was as if "Satan entered him"; he was first arrested at 13 for publicly shooting a rifle and threatening to kill his own mother.<ref name="Baur2021">{{Cite magazine |last=Baur |first=Alex |date=2021-09-23 |title=Nichts an ihm war echt |trans-title=Nothing about him was real |url=https://weltwoche.ch/story/nichts-an-ihm-war-echt/ |url-access=subscription |access-date=2024-12-31 |magazine=] |location=Zurich |issn=0043-2660}}</ref><ref name="Baur2003" /> Afterwards, his parents requested he be sent to a ]. Following a variety of different diagnoses,<ref name="Baur2003" /> in 1960, at the age of 16, he was deemed a potentially dangerous psychopath by a psychiatrist.{{sfn|Nyffeler|Schwyter|2003|p=19}}<ref name="Aschwanden2021" /> He was released from the reformatory that year.<ref name="Baur2003" />
secures the ] in ]. As part of the introduction of a general electronic access control for visitors, access controls
with x-ray were additionally installed. Further, different wings of the Bundeshaus were
secured with security gates, which have to be opened by the politicians with a badge.


In his early life he was a ], though for some time he was a clerical assistant in ].{{sfn|Sinai|2016|p=215}} In this period he committed a number of crimes.{{sfn|Nyffeler|Schwyter|2003|p=19}}{{Efn|Among the acts he was accused or convicted for in the period from 1957–1969 were: theft, mischief, disturbing the peace, harassment, trespassing, possible extortion, lewdness, damage to property, violation of the Road Traffic Act, sexual immorality with children, public lewd acts, driving without a license, sexual immorality, fraud, attempted fraud, receiving stolen goods, smuggling and forgery.{{sfn|Nyffeler|Schwyter|2003|pages=19–21}} }} He had never served in the Militia System or the ],{{sfn|Halbrook|2005|p=27}} having been deemed unfit in 1965.{{sfn|Nyffeler|Schwyter|2003|p=19}} That year he got a high school diploma, and started studying law at the ]; '']'' writer Alex Baur noted him as studying "a suspicious amount of criminology subjects". His studies only lasted for a semester, as he was arrested for smuggling watches in ] and spent a resulting seven months in prison.<ref name="Baur2003" /><ref name="Baur2021" /> He got a business degree, but other than training as a waiter was only occasionally employed.<ref name="Aschwanden2021" />
Further, many cantons and communities have made files, that list the names of people, that
count as ''Nörgler'', ''Querulanten'' and ''Behördenhasser'' (nigglers, grumblers, haters of the administration),
threathening people who make an intense use of appellates and bomb authorities with protest, fail and then
think to be treated unfair. Since the Zug massacre, these are observed better.
Mediation centres were foundated, the so-called Ombudsmänner try to mediate. Police stations
became a lot more sensitive on threathenings, arrest threaters temporary and search their houses.
Often, weapons are found then. Further, when certificating weapon licenses, the person is
"examined" sharper, because Leibacher has been found having a paranoid personality disorder and "brain weakness"
("Gehirnschwäche") in older medical attests. Despite this, he was able to legally buy the weapons,
even when he already had threated people, has been known as a grumbler and even when a report was made against him.
Despite this, or due to a lack of knowledge, no measures followed, to avoid the catastrophe.


He was noted as an ] and as extremely manipulative. He would deny anything no matter the evidence, instead accusing those who had accused him of the crimes he had committed.<ref name="Baur2021" /> Despite his constant criminality, he was only rarely convicted.<ref name="Aschwanden2021" /> In 1970 he was convicted of ] and ],<ref name="Baur2003" /> among other crimes.{{Efn|The crimes he was sentenced for by the criminal court of Zug were: theft, attempted theft, gang-related theft, repeated theft, receiving stolen goods, commercial fraud, sexual assault of children, public lewd acts, repeated forgery and violation of the Road Traffic Act. Separately, the Canton of Zug convicted him of violating the Federal Law on War Material.{{sfn|Nyffeler|Schwyter|2003|p=20}}}} Through fraud, he was subject to a youth sentence instead of an adult sentence,<ref name="Baur2003" /> and as a result was sentenced to 18 months' detention and a fine of {{Swiss franc|100|link=yes}},{{sfn|Sinai|2016|p=215}}{{sfn|Nyffeler|Schwyter|2003|p=20}} which was delayed and Leibacher was instead sentenced to a work facility.<ref name="Aschwanden2021" /> A 1970 psychiatric assessment described him as having ], ] traits and a need for attention.{{sfn|Nyffeler|Schwyter|2003|p=21}} After his release, he became a management consultant and owned a company, Media Zeitschriften AG, which he used for illegitimate financial purposes.<ref name="Baur2003" /> Throughout the next two decades he was accused of a variety of criminal acts, among them ] into Switzerland,{{sfn|Sinai|2016|p=215}}{{sfn|Halbrook|2005|p=28}} for which he was convicted three times but only got warning sentences.<ref name="Baur2003" /> He was sued in 1982 for assaulting pedestrians. During this time he made many violent threats, some towards employment agency workers.{{sfn|Sinai|2016|p=215}}{{sfn|Halbrook|2005|p=28}} Twice he was suspected in arson that he financially benefited from.<ref name="Baur2003" />
== Deaths ==
* ] (Regierungsrat/Statthalter, FDP, Zug)
* ] (Regierungsrätin, SP, Baar)
* ] (Regierungsrat, CVP, Zug)
* ] (Kantonsratspräsident, CVP, Cham)
* ] (Kantonsrat, FDP, Zug)
* ] (Kantonsrätin, FDP, Zug)
* ] (Kantonsrat, CVP, Oberägeri)
* ] (Kantonsrat, CVP, Baar)
* ] (Kantonsrat, CVP, Unterägeri)
* ] (Kantonsrat, FDP, Unterägeri)
* ] (Kantonsrat, CVP, Cham)
* ] (Kantonsrat, CVP, Risch)
* ] (Kantonsrat, FDP, Baar)
* ] (Kantonsrätin, CVP, Baar)


In 1975, he bought a sailing yacht which he used to travel the world.{{sfn|Nyffeler|Schwyter|2003|pp=20–21}}<ref name="Baur2003" /> He had three failed marriages to women from the ]; the first of his wives was 28 and the next two were 16 (this marriage was not recognized by Switzerland). From these marriages he had three children. All his marriages were short, and marked by severe domestic abuse perpetrated by Leibacher.{{sfn|Nyffeler|Schwyter|2003|pp=21–22}}<ref name="Baur2021" /> In 1994, he was arrested in the Dominican Republic for assaulting his third wife; he escaped through bribery and returned to Switzerland with his daughter.<ref name="Baur2021" /> He was diagnosed by doctors in 1996 with ], probable ], mental impairment and mild ].<ref name="Aschwanden2021" /> He was also deemed an unstable man, a "criminal psychopath" and was noted to have a weapons obsession.{{sfn|Sinai|2016|p=215}}{{sfn|Halbrook|2005|p=27}} He received an invalidity pension in 1995, largely due to alleged ].<ref name="Aschwanden2021" /><ref name="Baur2021" /> His ] was expunged and police approved him to buy firearms.{{sfn|Halbrook|2005|p=28}}<ref name="Baur2021" /> In 1997, he bought the assault rifle used in the shooting.<ref name="Baur2021" />
== External links ==
* a related conspiracy theory '''(German)'''


=== Government feud ===
]
On 17 October 1998, Leibacher threatened a bus driver with a gun during a fight. This had started as a personal argument, but he then accused the driver of being an alcoholic.{{sfn|Meloy|Hoffmann|Guldimann|James|2012|p=271}}{{sfn|Sinai|2016|p=215}}<ref name="Baur2021" /> The bus driver and his employer (the Zug transport services) then sued Leibacher.{{sfn|Meloy|Hoffmann|Guldimann|James|2012|p=271}} Upset by his treatment, he wrote frequently to the authorities with letters of complaint and threats.{{sfn|Endrass|Rossegger|Urbaniok|Laubacher|2011|p=81}}{{sfn|Meloy|Hoffmann|Guldimann|James|2012|p=271}} The government of Zug offered to pay him, but Leibacher refused their offered sum, wanting a million.<ref name="Baur2003" /> His complaints and attempts at seeking compensation were all rejected, and his writing only grew more aggressive. He contacted various human rights organizations, including the ] and ], to whom he complained that he was enduring what he called "torture" that caused him sickness.{{sfn|Meloy|Hoffmann|Guldimann|James|2012|p=271}} This resulted in several legal battles,{{sfn|Sinai|2016|p=215}} and the canton sued him for ] and charges were pressed against him for his threats.<ref name="Rose2007">{{Cite news |last=Rose |first=David |date=2007-08-26 |title='I've given you the chance to help, but you haven't. Now someone is going to have to die' |url=https://www.theguardian.com/theobserver/2007/aug/26/features.magazine67 |access-date=2023-12-11 |work=] |publisher=] |location=London |language=en-GB |issn=0029-7712}}</ref>{{sfn|Endrass|Rossegger|Urbaniok|Laubacher|2011|p=81}}
]
]
]
He filed various cases alleging corruption of various public officials,<ref name="Baur2003" /> but they were dismissed by the court.<ref name="Rose2007" />{{sfn|Sinai|2016|p=215}} Trying to end the legal battle the Director of Transport {{ill|Robert Bisig|de}} offered to meet with Leibacher.<ref name="Baur2003" /> In May 2001, Zug politicians rejected without discussion his complaint against them, unanimously so.{{sfn|Meloy|Hoffmann|Guldimann|James|2012|p=271}} In the final months before the shooting, Leibacher closed his bank accounts, sold his home and his shares in stocks. The day before the shooting, he instructed a Swiss funeral home that when he died, he was to be cremated and have his ashes scattered across the ]. The day of the attack he sent his lawyer a key, which unlocked a locker that contained several folders of case information.{{sfn|Meloy|Hoffmann|Guldimann|James|2012|p=271}}<ref name="Aschwanden2021" /> He also filed a will in the Dominican Republic and wrote a goodbye letter to his mother. Another letter said that he had never told anyone of his plans.<ref name="SWI2003">{{Cite news |date=2003-10-23 |title=Le carnage de Zoug était soigneusement préparé |trans-title=The Zug massacre was carefully planned |url=https://www.swissinfo.ch/fre/vivre-vieillir/le-carnage-de-zoug-%c3%a9tait-soigneusement-pr%c3%a9par%c3%a9/3582246 |access-date=2024-12-31 |work=] |location=Bern |language=fr-CH}}</ref> He received notification that the courts had ruled against him just days before the attacks, but never opened the letter.{{sfn|Meloy|Hoffmann|Guldimann|James|2012|p=271}}
]
]


All of the guns and weapons Leibacher owned were legally acquired,{{sfn|Hurka|2017|p=144}}{{sfn|Meloy|Hoffmann|Guldimann|James|2012|p=270}} and he purchased the ] nine days before the shooting, even though he was under surveillance at the time for threatening the Zug bus driver with a gun.<ref name="Mooser2011">{{Cite news |last=Mooser |first=Hubert |date=2011-01-11 |title=Waffeninitiative – das wollen Befürworter: Amokläufer wie Leibacher vor dem Töten stoppen? |trans-title=Gun initiative - this is what supporters want: to stop mass killers like Leibacher before they kill? |url=https://www.blick.ch/news/politik/massenmoerdern-wie-leibacher-auf-die-spur-kommen-164366/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110114080357/https://www.blick.ch/news/politik/massenmoerdern-wie-leibacher-auf-die-spur-kommen-164366/ |archive-date=2011-01-14 |access-date=2023-12-11 |work=] |location=Zurich |language=de-CH |issn=1013-0667}}</ref>{{sfn|Meloy|Hoffmann|Guldimann|James|2012|p=270}} Despite making some preparations for escape, such as renting a ], evidence suggests he ].{{sfn|Meloy|Hoffmann|Guldimann|James|2012|p=271}} The day before the attack, Leibacher wrote a letter to the director of his daughter's school. This letter was written in poor English, and read in part:{{sfn|Meloy|Hoffmann|Guldimann|James|2012|p=271}}
]

{{Blockquote|text=I am persecuted by the Swiss government for some critics If these things are driving out of control, it is because I am completely tired to fight against that supremacy. I am forced to do the same as they do}}It is also possible that these were lies, intended to "legitimate" his murder fantasies, and that he simply wanted to kill people.<ref name="Baur2021" />

== Massacre ==
]
On 27 September 2001, at 10:30{{nbsp}}a.m.,{{sfn|Meloy|Hoffmann|Guldimann|James|2012|p=270}} Leibacher arrived at the canton's parliament building ({{Langx|de|Parlamentsgebäude}}) armed with four firearms (] ], ] ], ] ], ] ]){{sfn|Nyffeler|Schwyter|2003|p=10}} and dressed in a ].<ref name="Olson2001a">{{Cite news |last=Olson |first=Elizabeth |date=2001-09-28 |title=14 Killed in Attack on a Swiss Legislature |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/09/28/world/14-killed-in-attack-on-a-swiss-legislature.html |access-date=2023-12-11 |work=] |page=6 |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref name="Aschwanden2021" /> The assault rifle was a target rifle, not an army rifle.{{sfn|Halbrook|2005|p=28}} Leibacher entered the building, disguising himself as a police officer.{{sfn|Sinai|2016|p=214}} He ran upstairs to the council chamber and yelled "Attention! This is a police operation", and said he would "show them", before opening fire{{sfn|Sinai|2016|p=214}}{{sfn|Meloy|Hoffmann|Guldimann|James|2012|p=270}}<ref name="Aschwanden2021" /> in the assembly hall where 80 members of parliament were meeting.<ref name="BBCNews2001">{{Cite news |date=2001-09-27 |title=2001: Swiss man kills 14 |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/september/27/newsid_2539000/2539769.stm |access-date=2023-12-11 |work=] |language=en-GB}}</ref> As the hall only had one entrance, they were trapped within.<ref name="Aschwanden2021" /> The shooting began at 10:32{{nbsp}}a.m.<ref name="Aschwanden2021" />{{Multiple image
| direction = vertical
| image1 = Stgw 90 3.jpg
| image2 = Remington 870 Wmaster.jpg
| caption2 = Two ]s similar to those used in the massacre, the ] ] and ] ]
| align = left
| alt1 = SIG SG 550 assault rifle, laying on the ground oriented right
| alt2 = Remington Model 870 Express shotgun, laying on the ground oriented right
}}

He killed three members of the Executive Council ({{Langx|de|Regierungsräte}}) and eleven members of the legislature ({{Langx|de|Kantonsräte}}),<ref name="Mirza2003">{{Cite news |last=Mirza |first=Faryal |date=2003-10-23 |title=Zug gunman was "cold-blooded" killer |url=https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/zug-gunman-was--cold-blooded--killer/3582280 |access-date=2023-12-10 |work=] |language=en}}</ref>{{sfn|Nyffeler|Schwyter|2003|p=6}}<ref name="Aschwanden2021" /> and wounded 18 politicians and journalists, some seriously.<ref name="Aschwanden2021" /> He fired 91 shots.<ref name="Aschwanden2021" /> He also repeatedly called for Bisig to reveal himself and called him a coward; Bisig was playing dead on the ground.<ref name="Osborn2001b" /><ref name="Baur2003" /> Those in the hall jumped to the ground to avoid injury; one man jumped out a window, sustaining serious injuries.<ref name="Aschwanden2021" /> Leibacher then left the council chamber, but returned to throw a ] into the chamber.{{sfn|Sinai|2016|p=214}} The explosion caused doors to fly from their hinges and the windows of the hall to shatter.<ref name="Osborn2001">{{Cite news |last=Osborn |first=Andrew |date=2001-09-28 |title=Deranged Swiss gunman kills 14 |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2001/sep/28/andrewosborn |access-date=2024-12-29 |work=] |location=London |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref> Towards the end of the attack, he yelled "now, we deal with ‘the complaint Leibacher'", revealing his identity.{{sfn|Meloy|Hoffmann|Guldimann|James|2012|pp=270–271}} He then shot himself at about 10:34{{nbsp}}a.m.{{sfn|Sinai|2016|p=214}}{{sfn|Meloy|Hoffmann|Guldimann|James|2012|p=270}} The shooting lasted for 2 minutes and 34 seconds.{{sfn|Meloy|Hoffmann|Guldimann|James|2012|p=270}} The whole shooting was caught on a ] that had been running through the meeting.<ref name="Baur2003" />

His main target was Robert Bisig, who was left unharmed and survived the massacre.<ref name="Osborn2001b" /><ref name="Aschwanden2021">{{Cite news |last=Aschwanden |first=Erich |date=2021-09-19 |title=2 Minuten, 34 Sekunden Horror im Ratssaal: Wie das Zuger Attentat der Schweiz etwas von ihrer Unbeschwertheit nahm |trans-title=2 minutes, 34 seconds of horror in the council chamber: How the Zug attack took away some of Switzerland's lightheartedness |url=https://www.nzz.ch/schweiz/das-zuger-attentat-2-minuten-34-sekunden-horror-im-ratssaal-ld.1643440 |access-date=2023-12-10 |work=] |language=de-CH |issn=0376-6829}}</ref> Leibacher left a suicide note in his car (of which he made 29 copies) titled "{{Lang|de|Tag des Zornes für die Zuger Mafia}}" ("{{Translation|Day of Reckoning for the Zug Mafia}}", or {{Translation|Day of Rage for the Zug Mafia}}).<ref name="BBCNews2001" />{{sfn|Sinai|2016|p=215}}<ref name="Aschwanden2021" /> It contained various allegations against the authorities of the canton, denouncing them as a "Mafia judiciary" that had victimized him through "illegal and criminal means".{{sfn|Sinai|2016|p=215}} Also in the car was another weapon and a motorcycle outfit.<ref name="SWI2003" /> The revolver, also acquired legally, was unused.{{sfn|Hurka|2017|p=144}} Around his neck was a statement on a cord that stated he declined medical attention, or the usage of his organs for any purpose.{{sfn|Meloy|Hoffmann|Guldimann|James|2012|p=271}}<ref name="Baur2003" /> He had a ] of 0.48–0.58.<ref name="SWI2003" /> The police did not fire any shots in responding to the shooting.<ref name="SWI2003" />

{{clear}}

== Aftermath ==
{{Quote box
| title = Victims
| quote = {{plainlist|1=
* '''President of the Cantonal Parliament'''
* Herbert Arnet
*'''Members of the Cantonal Government'''
* {{ill|Peter Bossard|de}}
* {{ill|Monika Hutter-Häfliger|de|Monika Hutter|fr|Monika Hutter}}
* {{ill|Jean-Paul Flachsmann|de}}
* '''Cantonal councilors'''
* Martin Döbeli
* Dorly Heimgartner
* Kurt Nussbaumer
* Rolf Nussbaumer
* Konrad Häusler
* Erich Iten
* Karl Gretener
* Willi Wismer
* Heinz Grüter
* Käthi Langenegger
}}
| source = Source: {{sfn|Nyffeler|Schwyter|2003|p=6}}
}}Only two of the seven government councilors were still able to work after the shooting: Director of Economic Affairs Robert Bisig and director of finance {{ill|Ruth Schwerzmann|de}}. Director of Security {{ill|Hanspeter Uster|de}} and Director of Education and Culture Walter Suter were injured in hospital. At 4 p.m., {{ill|Tino Jorio|de}}, who remained uninjured, organized an eleven-member task force, which met under his leadership at 8 a.m. the following morning.{{sfn|Schmutz|2021|p=|pp=18–20}} Bisig and Schwerzmann, together with the executive secretaries, took over the management of the orphaned departments, and parliamentary business was suspended until the end of November.{{sfn|Schmutz|2021|p=|pp=18–20}} The task force held six meetings and disbanded on 12 October. On 23 October, the government met for the first time in its new form, and on 29 November, the Cantonal Council also resumed its work, now in the large hall of the Zug police building.{{sfn|Schmutz|2021|p=|pp=18–20}}

Swiss president ] ordered the national flag to be flown at half-mast for three days after the incident.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2001-09-28 |title=Shooting shakes Swiss foundations |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/1569073.stm |access-date=2024-12-31 |work=] |language=en-GB}}</ref> The mayor of Zug, Christoph Luchsinger, described the aftermath as "a terrible scene of horror" and the shooting as an "attack on our democracy".<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Bachmann |first=Helena |date=2001-09-28 |title=The Zug Attack: It Can Happen Here |url=https://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,176874,00.html |access-date=2023-12-10 |magazine=] |location=New York City |language=en-US |issn=0040-781X}}</ref> After the shooting, the cantonal authorities filed to claim Leibacher's estate, valued at {{Swiss franc|400,000|link=yes}}.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2002-01-09 |title=Zug stakes claim to killer's estate |url=https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/zug-stakes-claim-to-killer-s-estate/2473260 |access-date=2023-12-09 |work=] |location=Bern |language=en}}</ref> One of the injured victims was left paralyzed by the attack.<ref name="BBCNews2013" /> That the attack occurred so shortly after ] likely impacted the amount of attention given to it, though substantial attention was.{{sfn|Hurka|Nebel|2013|p=398}} There was an international reaction, with ] saying a prayer for the victims.<ref name="Aschwanden2021" />

On 1 October, the official funeral service for the victims was held in the Zug parish church of {{Ill|St Michael's Church, Switzerland|lt=St Michael's|de|St. Michael (Zug)}}. 14 candles were lit for the victims of the shooting. Representatives of the ], wanting to uphold the idea of forgiveness, wanted to light 15th candle for Leibacher. The relatives of the victims opposed this. During the service, Bishop ] said: "To light a candle for the perpetrator – I can feel it is still too early for many." He handed the 15th candle to the regional ] of Zug, who lit it a year later together with a Reformed colleague.{{sfn|Schmutz|2021|p=|pp=76–77}} Many of Leibacher's final actions have been viewed as an example of attacker "final warning" behavior.{{sfn|Meloy|Hoffmann|Guldimann|James|2012|p=271}} Leibacher was said by the official report to be fully aware of and responsible for his actions, though afflicted with a personality disorder.<ref name="SWI2003" />

{{clear}}

== Legacy ==
The massacre is the deadliest ] in Swiss history and the first time a Swiss politician was killed since the 19th century.<ref name="BBCNews2001" /><ref name="SWI2001a">{{Cite news |date=2001-09-28 |title=Switzerland steps up security after Zug massacre |url=https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/life-aging/switzerland-steps-up-security-after-zug-massacre/2276422 |access-date=2024-12-29 |work=] |location=Bern |language=en-GB}}</ref>{{efn|The last time was in 1890, when state councilor {{ill|Luigi Rossi (Swiss politician)|lt=Luigi Rossi|de|Luigi Rossi (Politiker, 1864)|it|Luigi Rossi (1864-1890)}} was shot dead during a coup.<ref name="SWI2001b">{{Cite news |url=https://www.swissinfo.ch/ger/leben-und-altern/gewaltakte-gegen-politiker-sind-selten-in-der-schweiz/2274560 |title=Gewaltakte gegen Politiker sind selten in der Schweiz |date=2001-09-27 |trans-title=Acts of violence against politicians are rare in Switzerland |language=de |access-date=2024-12-31 |location=Bern |work=]}}</ref>}} After the shooting, the furniture in the room where the attack occurred was burned and the layout of the room was redesigned. They initially wanted to destroy the building altogether, but this was decided against. On 30 August 2004, a memorial for the shooting was unveiled in Zug, designed by Zug artist Caroline Flueler. The memorial has a green glass plate embedded into the floor, with 14 points of light, representing the 14 victims.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Bourget |first=Albertine |date=2004-08-23 |title=Zoug se donne un mémorial "Attentat" pour surmonter le 27 septembre 2001 |trans-title=Zug gives itself an "Attack" memorial to overcome 27 September 2001 |url=https://www.letemps.ch/suisse/zoug-se-donne-un-memorial-attentat-surmonter-27-septembre-2001 |access-date=2024-12-31 |work=] |location=Geneva |language=fr-CH |issn=1423-3967}}</ref> During the ten years until his retirement in September 2011, Timo Jorio and his wife Ruth, as well as Landesweibel, accompanied the relatives of those killed and arranged for lawyers to help with legal issues. Jorio used the money from Leibacher's estate to finance part of the victim support.{{sfn|Schmutz|2021|p=|pp=76–77}} The majority of the compensation came from the state in accordance with the Swiss {{ill|Victim Support Act|de|Opferhilfegesetz|fr|Loi sur l'aide aux victimes}}.{{sfn|Schmutz|2021|p=21}}

Two brothers from Zug developed a ] that Leibacher had not killed himself and had actually been killed by the police, and that there was a coverup by the government and media to hide this fact. This idea was spread widely by them across the internet and through posters and flyers. They also repeatedly filed complaints against the Zug authorities as a result, accusing them of murder and abetting murder. The Zug government then filed a complaint against the men for false accusations.<ref name="NZZ2012">{{Cite news |date=2012-10-22 |title=Verfahren nach Attentat von Zug eingestellt |trans-title=Proceedings after Zug attack discontinued |url=https://www.nzz.ch/schweiz/verfahren-nach-attentat-von-zug-eingestellt-ld.826936 |url-access=subscription |access-date=2024-12-31 |work=] |language=de-CH |issn=0376-6829 |agency=sda}}</ref> In 2012, the St. Gallen public prosecutor Beat Fehr closed both cases after a long investigation, and concluded that the investigation was proper and that the allegations by the two men were unfounded. He also closed the complaint by the government against the men, as they had believed their statements to be true.<ref name="NZZ2012" />

Several films based off the events were proposed, but attempts to make any were repeatedly resisted by the canton, as were research attempts into the shooting.<ref name="Knellwolf2011">{{Cite news |last=Knellwolf |first=Thomas |date=2011-08-13 |title=Der Kanton Zug verhindert einen Film über Amokläufer Leibacher |trans-title=The Canton of Zug prevents a movie about mass murderer Leibacher |url=https://www.tagesanzeiger.ch/der-kanton-zug-verhindert-einen-film-ueber-amoklaeufer-leibacher-643403704774 |access-date=2023-12-10 |work=] |location=Zurich |language=de-CH |issn=1422-9994}}</ref> In 2004, during a ] ice hockey game between ] and ] at a stadium in ], fans of Bern taunted and provoked Zug supporters by displaying a large banner celebrating the massacre, adorned with a ] alongside the text "{{Lang|de|Danke Leibacher}}" ({{Translation|Thanks Leibacher}}) written across it. SC Bern released an official apology to Zug supporters on behalf of their fans.<ref name="Walt2015">{{Cite news |last=Walt |first=Daniel |date=2015-02-25 |title=Der Hass aus den Fankurven |trans-title=The hatred from the fan stands |url=https://www.tagblatt.ch/panorama/der-hass-aus-den-fankurven-ld.935941 |access-date=2024-12-29 |work=] |language=de |issn=1424-2869}}</ref>

=== Policy changes ===
A commissioned psychiatric analysis of Leibacher after the shooting argued that though Leibacher's behavior was "very peculiar", all the pieces regarding the danger he presented could not have been put together beforehand.{{sfn|Endrass|Rossegger|Urbaniok|Laubacher|2011|p=81}} The shooting also led to a change in how people perceived as hostile or uttering threats were handled by several cantons. The public prosecution office now assigns a case manager to such people to assess the violence risk by gathering all known information, and such individuals are tracked in databases.{{sfn|Endrass|Rossegger|Urbaniok|Laubacher|2011|p=82}}<ref name="Aschwanden2021" />

After the shooting, there was a heated debate over many policy aspects.{{sfn|Hurka|2017|p=144}} However, ] remained unchanged, despite the fact that when the shooting had occurred there were already proposed gun reforms.{{sfn|Hurka|2017|p=145}}{{sfn|Hurka|Nebel|2013|p=391}} Many statements in the aftermath of Zug about guns did not present widespread gun availability as a social problem, unlike other similar cases.{{sfn|Hurka|Nebel|2013|p=398}} There was no large societal campaign for stricter gun laws, as seen in other countries that had experienced similarly deadly attacks (e.g. the United Kingdom after the ]).{{sfn|Hurka|2017|p=147}}<ref name="Osborn2001b" /> The ] (SP) argued for gun reforms in the aftermath, as did the ] (CVP), though the CVP's support for such policies was far less focused and less specific than the SP's.{{sfn|Hurka|Nebel|2013|p=402}} In 2003, Swiss Justice Minister ] proposed that all firearms be registered. That year she was voted out of office, the first time in 131 years that someone in her position had not been re-elected, and the measure was scrapped by her successor ].{{sfn|Halbrook|2005|p=29}} In part due to the attack along with a ], as well as the murder of ] in 2006, a referendum was held in 2011 over instituting stricter gun laws, {{Lang|de|Schutz vor Waffengewalt}}. The proposed policies included the ban of the sale of ] and ], and that military-issued firearms must be held in army depots. It also proposed a weapons registry. The referendum was ultimately rejected by 56.3% of voters.<ref>{{Cite news |last1=McConville |first1=Ben |last2=Lawless |first2=Jill |date=2012-12-18 |title=Around world, massacres have spurred gun control |url=https://apnews.com/article/europe-shootings-australia-united-states-gun-politics-1af20b3288d74a218160ef896615b275 |access-date=2023-12-11 |work=] |language=en-US}}</ref>{{sfn|Hurka|2017|p=144}}<ref name="Mooser2011" /><ref name="BBCNews2013" />

Instead of gun control, the security of buildings deflected the focus and most of the public attention was on such issues.{{sfn|Hurka|2017|p=145}}{{sfn|Hurka|Nebel|2013|pp=398, 402}} The idea of changing the free access to buildings resulted in criticism, as some believed this would damage the transparency between politicians and the public. Despite this, widespread security changes were enacted.{{sfn|Hurka|Nebel|2013|p=402}} On the national level, the {{Lang|de|Sektion Sicherheit Parlamentsgebäude}} (section for the security of parliament buildings) was established as part of the {{Lang|de|Bundessicherheitsdienst}} (]), a police unit of 35, which secures the ] in ].<ref name="SWI2022">{{Cite news |date=2022-11-25 |title=Switzerland's worst-ever gun massacre |url=https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/multimedia/switzerland-s-worst-ever-gun-massacre/48049694 |access-date=2023-12-09 |work=] |language=en |agency=]}}</ref> As part of a general electronic access control for visitors, access controls with ]s were installed. Further, separate wings of the Bundeshaus were secured with gates, which have to be opened with an access badge/card.<ref name="SWI2001a" /> Afterwards, many local parliaments increased security or installed security measures around and inside of their buildings. Some established a strict access control for visitors and security passes for the politicians and staff.<ref name="SWI2001a" /><ref name="Aschwanden2021" />

== See also ==
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]

== Notes ==
{{notelist}}

== References ==
{{reflist}}

===Works cited===
* {{Cite journal |last1=Endrass |first1=Jérôme |last2=Rossegger |first2=Astrid |last3=Urbaniok |first3=Frank |last4=Laubacher |first4=Arja |last5=Pierce |first5=Christine Schnyder |last6=Moskvitin |first6=Konstantin |date=2011 |title=Procedures for preventing juvenile violence in Switzerland: The Zurich model |journal=New Directions for Youth Development |language=en |volume=2011 |issue=129 |pages=79–87 |doi=10.1002/yd.388 |issn=1537-5781}}
* {{Cite journal |last=Halbrook |first=Stephen P. |author-link=Stephen Halbrook |date=2005 |title=Citizens in Arms: The Swiss Experience |journal=Journal on Firearms and Public Policy |volume=17 |pages=21–58 |issn=1930-7624}}
* {{Cite journal |last1=Hurka |first1=Steffen |last2=Nebel |first2=Kerstin |date=2013-03-01 |title=Framing and policy change after shooting rampages: a comparative analysis of discourse networks |journal=] |language=en |volume=20 |issue=3 |pages=390–406 |doi=10.1080/13501763.2013.761508 |issn=1350-1763}}
* {{Cite book |last=Hurka |first=Steffen |title=Rampage Shootings and Gun Control: Politicization and Policy Change in Western Europe |publisher=] |year=2017 |isbn=978-1-138-63043-7 |series=Routledge Research in Comparative Politics |location=London; New York |language=en |chapter=When laws bite the bullet (and when they do not)}}
* {{Cite journal |last1=Meloy |first1=J. Reid |author-link=J. Reid Meloy |last2=Hoffmann |first2=Jens |last3=Guldimann |first3=Angela |last4=James |first4=David |date=2012 |title=The Role of Warning Behaviors in Threat Assessment: An Exploration and Suggested Typology |journal=] |language=en |volume=30 |issue=3 |pages=256–279 |doi=10.1002/bsl.999 |issn=1099-0798}}
* {{Cite report |last1=Nyffeler |first1=Robert |last2=Schwyter |first2=Roland |title=Untersuchungsrichterlicher Schlussbericht zum Attentat vom 27. September 2001 im Regierungsgebäude des Kantons Zug |trans-title=Final report by the investigating judge on the attack on 27 September 2001 in the government building of the canton of Zug |date=2003 |publisher=Examining magistrate of the Canton of Zug |issue=1368 |language=de}}
* {{Cite book |last=Schmutz |first=Barbara |title=Das Attentat von Zug: 20 Jahre danach |publisher=Weber Verlag AG |year=2021 |isbn=978-3-905927-66-5 |language=de}}
* {{Cite book |last=Sinai |first=Joshua |title=Understanding Lone Actor Terrorism: Past experience, future outlook, and response strategies |publisher=] |year=2016 |isbn=978-1-138-10051-0 |editor-last=Fredholm |editor-first=Michael |series=Contemporary Terrorism Studies |location=London; New York |language=en |chapter=The active shooter threat: Profiling perpetrators for preemptive prevention}}

{{Mass shootings in Switzerland}}

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Latest revision as of 17:24, 9 January 2025

2001 mass shooting in Switzerland

Zug massacre
The front of the parliament building, white with several windowsThe parliament building in Zug in 2012, almost 11 years after the massacre
Zug is located in Canton of ZugZugZugZug (Canton of Zug)Show map of Canton of ZugZug is located in SwitzerlandZugZugZug (Switzerland)Show map of SwitzerlandLocation of the Zug parliament building within the Canton of Zug and Switzerland
LocationParlamentsgebäude of Zug, Canton of Zug, Switzerland
Coordinates47°10′04″N 8°30′53″E / 47.1678°N 8.5147°E / 47.1678; 8.5147
Date27 September 2001; 23 years ago (2001-09-27)
10:30 a.m. – 10:34 a.m.
TargetCantonal Minister Robert Bisig [de] and other members of the Zug Parliament
Attack typeMass shooting, bombing, murder-suicide
Weapons
Deaths15 (including the perpetrator)
Injured18
PerpetratorFriedrich Leibacher
MotiveRetaliation for perceived mistreatment by the Zug Parliament

The Zug massacre was a mass shooting that took place on 27 September 2001 in the parliament of the Canton of Zug, in Switzerland. 57-year-old Friedrich Leibacher shot and killed 14 people in the parliament before killing himself. He was armed with a civilian version of a SIG SG 550 assault rifle, a pump-action shotgun, two handguns, a homemade bomb and was wearing a homemade police vest. All of the weapons used were legally obtained. The massacre is the deadliest mass murder in Swiss history and the first time a Swiss politician was killed since the 19th century.

Leibacher had a long history of criminal actions, among them several instances of assault, illegal importation of guns and child molestation, as well as violent threats. Despite this, his criminal record was expunged and he was approved to buy firearms. Three years before the massacre, he was sued for threatening a man with a gun. Afterwards he was under police surveillance and became embroiled in a legal battle with the Canton of Zug. He became grievanced against the legal system, particularly blaming Cantonal Minister Robert Bisig [de]. He left a letter with these accusations, titled "Day of Reckoning for the Zug Mafia". Bisig himself survived the attack.

In the aftermath of the shooting, there were changes in building security policies in Switzerland, which had previously been lax. In addition, new practices on how to handle people who make threats were instituted in several cantons. There were no changes in gun laws as a result of the shooting, with the discussion in the aftermath having focused more on building security. After the shooting and several other violent incidents, a referendum was held in 2011 on more severe gun laws. It was rejected by 56.3% of voters.

Background

See also: Firearms regulation in Switzerland

The massacre occurred sixteen days after the September 11 attacks in the United States, which killed 2,996 people. In 2001, around 500,000 people in Switzerland possessed firearms as a result of the Swiss Militia System, which requires men over 20 to be ready for a call to service. Switzerland has one of the highest gun ownership rates in the world, and in 2011, there were 3.4 million firearms in the country compared to the population of 8 million. Despite these figures, the country has relatively low gun-related crime with one gun-related death for every 200,000 people. Switzerland then had a relatively permissive policy when it came to public access to administrative buildings.

Perpetrator

Leibacher sitting on a chair, staring to the right
Leibacher in the Dominican Republic, in a photo from 1991

Friedrich Heinz "Fritz" Leibacher, a 57-year-old Swiss man, was the perpetrator of the massacre. He was born in Zug on 21 July 1944, with two brothers in a middle-class family. His father said when he started school it was as if "Satan entered him"; he was first arrested at 13 for publicly shooting a rifle and threatening to kill his own mother. Afterwards, his parents requested he be sent to a reformatory. Following a variety of different diagnoses, in 1960, at the age of 16, he was deemed a potentially dangerous psychopath by a psychiatrist. He was released from the reformatory that year.

In his early life he was a drifter, though for some time he was a clerical assistant in Zurich. In this period he committed a number of crimes. He had never served in the Militia System or the Swiss Armed Forces, having been deemed unfit in 1965. That year he got a high school diploma, and started studying law at the University of Zurich; Die Weltwoche writer Alex Baur noted him as studying "a suspicious amount of criminology subjects". His studies only lasted for a semester, as he was arrested for smuggling watches in Turkey and spent a resulting seven months in prison. He got a business degree, but other than training as a waiter was only occasionally employed.

He was noted as an exhibitionist and as extremely manipulative. He would deny anything no matter the evidence, instead accusing those who had accused him of the crimes he had committed. Despite his constant criminality, he was only rarely convicted. In 1970 he was convicted of child molestation and sex in public, among other crimes. Through fraud, he was subject to a youth sentence instead of an adult sentence, and as a result was sentenced to 18 months' detention and a fine of SFr 100, which was delayed and Leibacher was instead sentenced to a work facility. A 1970 psychiatric assessment described him as having schizoid personality disorder, hypochondriac traits and a need for attention. After his release, he became a management consultant and owned a company, Media Zeitschriften AG, which he used for illegitimate financial purposes. Throughout the next two decades he was accused of a variety of criminal acts, among them illegal importation of handguns into Switzerland, for which he was convicted three times but only got warning sentences. He was sued in 1982 for assaulting pedestrians. During this time he made many violent threats, some towards employment agency workers. Twice he was suspected in arson that he financially benefited from.

In 1975, he bought a sailing yacht which he used to travel the world. He had three failed marriages to women from the Dominican Republic; the first of his wives was 28 and the next two were 16 (this marriage was not recognized by Switzerland). From these marriages he had three children. All his marriages were short, and marked by severe domestic abuse perpetrated by Leibacher. In 1994, he was arrested in the Dominican Republic for assaulting his third wife; he escaped through bribery and returned to Switzerland with his daughter. He was diagnosed by doctors in 1996 with antisocial personality disorder, probable alcoholism, mental impairment and mild schizophrenia. He was also deemed an unstable man, a "criminal psychopath" and was noted to have a weapons obsession. He received an invalidity pension in 1995, largely due to alleged tinnitus. His criminal record was expunged and police approved him to buy firearms. In 1997, he bought the assault rifle used in the shooting.

Government feud

On 17 October 1998, Leibacher threatened a bus driver with a gun during a fight. This had started as a personal argument, but he then accused the driver of being an alcoholic. The bus driver and his employer (the Zug transport services) then sued Leibacher. Upset by his treatment, he wrote frequently to the authorities with letters of complaint and threats. The government of Zug offered to pay him, but Leibacher refused their offered sum, wanting a million. His complaints and attempts at seeking compensation were all rejected, and his writing only grew more aggressive. He contacted various human rights organizations, including the European Court of Human Rights and Amnesty International, to whom he complained that he was enduring what he called "torture" that caused him sickness. This resulted in several legal battles, and the canton sued him for defamation and charges were pressed against him for his threats.

Robert Bisig smiling
Robert Bisig [de] in 1986

He filed various cases alleging corruption of various public officials, but they were dismissed by the court. Trying to end the legal battle the Director of Transport Robert Bisig [de] offered to meet with Leibacher. In May 2001, Zug politicians rejected without discussion his complaint against them, unanimously so. In the final months before the shooting, Leibacher closed his bank accounts, sold his home and his shares in stocks. The day before the shooting, he instructed a Swiss funeral home that when he died, he was to be cremated and have his ashes scattered across the Atlantic. The day of the attack he sent his lawyer a key, which unlocked a locker that contained several folders of case information. He also filed a will in the Dominican Republic and wrote a goodbye letter to his mother. Another letter said that he had never told anyone of his plans. He received notification that the courts had ruled against him just days before the attacks, but never opened the letter.

All of the guns and weapons Leibacher owned were legally acquired, and he purchased the pump-action shotgun nine days before the shooting, even though he was under surveillance at the time for threatening the Zug bus driver with a gun. Despite making some preparations for escape, such as renting a motor scooter, evidence suggests he intended to die in the attack. The day before the attack, Leibacher wrote a letter to the director of his daughter's school. This letter was written in poor English, and read in part:

I am persecuted by the Swiss government for some critics If these things are driving out of control, it is because I am completely tired to fight against that supremacy. I am forced to do the same as they do

It is also possible that these were lies, intended to "legitimate" his murder fantasies, and that he simply wanted to kill people.

Massacre

Green parliament hall, with desks
The room where the attack took place, pictured 2015

On 27 September 2001, at 10:30 a.m., Leibacher arrived at the canton's parliament building (German: Parlamentsgebäude) armed with four firearms (SIG SG 550 assault rifle, Remington Model 870 Express shotgun, Smith & Wesson Model 19-7 revolver, SIG Sauer P232 pistol) and dressed in a homemade police vest. The assault rifle was a target rifle, not an army rifle. Leibacher entered the building, disguising himself as a police officer. He ran upstairs to the council chamber and yelled "Attention! This is a police operation", and said he would "show them", before opening fire in the assembly hall where 80 members of parliament were meeting. As the hall only had one entrance, they were trapped within. The shooting began at 10:32 a.m.

SIG SG 550 assault rifle, laying on the ground oriented rightRemington Model 870 Express shotgun, laying on the ground oriented rightTwo long guns similar to those used in the massacre, the SIG SG 550 assault rifle and Remington Model 870 Express shotgun

He killed three members of the Executive Council (German: Regierungsräte) and eleven members of the legislature (German: Kantonsräte), and wounded 18 politicians and journalists, some seriously. He fired 91 shots. He also repeatedly called for Bisig to reveal himself and called him a coward; Bisig was playing dead on the ground. Those in the hall jumped to the ground to avoid injury; one man jumped out a window, sustaining serious injuries. Leibacher then left the council chamber, but returned to throw a homemade bomb into the chamber. The explosion caused doors to fly from their hinges and the windows of the hall to shatter. Towards the end of the attack, he yelled "now, we deal with ‘the complaint Leibacher'", revealing his identity. He then shot himself at about 10:34 a.m. The shooting lasted for 2 minutes and 34 seconds. The whole shooting was caught on a tape recorder that had been running through the meeting.

His main target was Robert Bisig, who was left unharmed and survived the massacre. Leibacher left a suicide note in his car (of which he made 29 copies) titled "Tag des Zornes für die Zuger Mafia" ("transl. Day of Reckoning for the Zug Mafia", or transl. Day of Rage for the Zug Mafia). It contained various allegations against the authorities of the canton, denouncing them as a "Mafia judiciary" that had victimized him through "illegal and criminal means". Also in the car was another weapon and a motorcycle outfit. The revolver, also acquired legally, was unused. Around his neck was a statement on a cord that stated he declined medical attention, or the usage of his organs for any purpose. He had a blood alcohol content of 0.48–0.58. The police did not fire any shots in responding to the shooting.

Aftermath

Victims
  • President of the Cantonal Parliament
  • Herbert Arnet
  • Members of the Cantonal Government
  • Peter Bossard [de]
  • Monika Hutter-Häfliger [de; fr]
  • Jean-Paul Flachsmann [de]
  • Cantonal councilors
  • Martin Döbeli
  • Dorly Heimgartner
  • Kurt Nussbaumer
  • Rolf Nussbaumer
  • Konrad Häusler
  • Erich Iten
  • Karl Gretener
  • Willi Wismer
  • Heinz Grüter
  • Käthi Langenegger
Source:

Only two of the seven government councilors were still able to work after the shooting: Director of Economic Affairs Robert Bisig and director of finance Ruth Schwerzmann [de]. Director of Security Hanspeter Uster [de] and Director of Education and Culture Walter Suter were injured in hospital. At 4 p.m., Tino Jorio [de], who remained uninjured, organized an eleven-member task force, which met under his leadership at 8 a.m. the following morning. Bisig and Schwerzmann, together with the executive secretaries, took over the management of the orphaned departments, and parliamentary business was suspended until the end of November. The task force held six meetings and disbanded on 12 October. On 23 October, the government met for the first time in its new form, and on 29 November, the Cantonal Council also resumed its work, now in the large hall of the Zug police building.

Swiss president Moritz Leuenberger ordered the national flag to be flown at half-mast for three days after the incident. The mayor of Zug, Christoph Luchsinger, described the aftermath as "a terrible scene of horror" and the shooting as an "attack on our democracy". After the shooting, the cantonal authorities filed to claim Leibacher's estate, valued at SFr 400,000. One of the injured victims was left paralyzed by the attack. That the attack occurred so shortly after 9/11 likely impacted the amount of attention given to it, though substantial attention was. There was an international reaction, with Pope John Paul II saying a prayer for the victims.

On 1 October, the official funeral service for the victims was held in the Zug parish church of St Michael's [de]. 14 candles were lit for the victims of the shooting. Representatives of the Catholic Church, wanting to uphold the idea of forgiveness, wanted to light 15th candle for Leibacher. The relatives of the victims opposed this. During the service, Bishop Kurt Koch said: "To light a candle for the perpetrator – I can feel it is still too early for many." He handed the 15th candle to the regional dean of Zug, who lit it a year later together with a Reformed colleague. Many of Leibacher's final actions have been viewed as an example of attacker "final warning" behavior. Leibacher was said by the official report to be fully aware of and responsible for his actions, though afflicted with a personality disorder.

Legacy

The massacre is the deadliest mass murder in Swiss history and the first time a Swiss politician was killed since the 19th century. After the shooting, the furniture in the room where the attack occurred was burned and the layout of the room was redesigned. They initially wanted to destroy the building altogether, but this was decided against. On 30 August 2004, a memorial for the shooting was unveiled in Zug, designed by Zug artist Caroline Flueler. The memorial has a green glass plate embedded into the floor, with 14 points of light, representing the 14 victims. During the ten years until his retirement in September 2011, Timo Jorio and his wife Ruth, as well as Landesweibel, accompanied the relatives of those killed and arranged for lawyers to help with legal issues. Jorio used the money from Leibacher's estate to finance part of the victim support. The majority of the compensation came from the state in accordance with the Swiss Victim Support Act [de; fr].

Two brothers from Zug developed a conspiracy theory that Leibacher had not killed himself and had actually been killed by the police, and that there was a coverup by the government and media to hide this fact. This idea was spread widely by them across the internet and through posters and flyers. They also repeatedly filed complaints against the Zug authorities as a result, accusing them of murder and abetting murder. The Zug government then filed a complaint against the men for false accusations. In 2012, the St. Gallen public prosecutor Beat Fehr closed both cases after a long investigation, and concluded that the investigation was proper and that the allegations by the two men were unfounded. He also closed the complaint by the government against the men, as they had believed their statements to be true.

Several films based off the events were proposed, but attempts to make any were repeatedly resisted by the canton, as were research attempts into the shooting. In 2004, during a National League ice hockey game between EV Zug and SC Bern at a stadium in St. Gallen, fans of Bern taunted and provoked Zug supporters by displaying a large banner celebrating the massacre, adorned with a skull and crossbones alongside the text "Danke Leibacher" (transl. Thanks Leibacher) written across it. SC Bern released an official apology to Zug supporters on behalf of their fans.

Policy changes

A commissioned psychiatric analysis of Leibacher after the shooting argued that though Leibacher's behavior was "very peculiar", all the pieces regarding the danger he presented could not have been put together beforehand. The shooting also led to a change in how people perceived as hostile or uttering threats were handled by several cantons. The public prosecution office now assigns a case manager to such people to assess the violence risk by gathering all known information, and such individuals are tracked in databases.

After the shooting, there was a heated debate over many policy aspects. However, gun laws in Switzerland remained unchanged, despite the fact that when the shooting had occurred there were already proposed gun reforms. Many statements in the aftermath of Zug about guns did not present widespread gun availability as a social problem, unlike other similar cases. There was no large societal campaign for stricter gun laws, as seen in other countries that had experienced similarly deadly attacks (e.g. the United Kingdom after the Dunblane massacre). The Social Democratic Party of Switzerland (SP) argued for gun reforms in the aftermath, as did the Christian Democratic People's Party (CVP), though the CVP's support for such policies was far less focused and less specific than the SP's. In 2003, Swiss Justice Minister Ruth Metzler proposed that all firearms be registered. That year she was voted out of office, the first time in 131 years that someone in her position had not been re-elected, and the measure was scrapped by her successor Christoph Blocher. In part due to the attack along with a high rate of gun suicide, as well as the murder of Corinne Rey-Bellet in 2006, a referendum was held in 2011 over instituting stricter gun laws, Schutz vor Waffengewalt. The proposed policies included the ban of the sale of fully automatic weapons and pump-action rifles, and that military-issued firearms must be held in army depots. It also proposed a weapons registry. The referendum was ultimately rejected by 56.3% of voters.

Instead of gun control, the security of buildings deflected the focus and most of the public attention was on such issues. The idea of changing the free access to buildings resulted in criticism, as some believed this would damage the transparency between politicians and the public. Despite this, widespread security changes were enacted. On the national level, the Sektion Sicherheit Parlamentsgebäude (section for the security of parliament buildings) was established as part of the Bundessicherheitsdienst (Federal Security Service), a police unit of 35, which secures the Bundeshaus in Bern. As part of a general electronic access control for visitors, access controls with X-ray machines were installed. Further, separate wings of the Bundeshaus were secured with gates, which have to be opened with an access badge/card. Afterwards, many local parliaments increased security or installed security measures around and inside of their buildings. Some established a strict access control for visitors and security passes for the politicians and staff.

See also

Notes

  1. Among the acts he was accused or convicted for in the period from 1957–1969 were: theft, mischief, disturbing the peace, harassment, trespassing, possible extortion, lewdness, damage to property, violation of the Road Traffic Act, sexual immorality with children, public lewd acts, driving without a license, sexual immorality, fraud, attempted fraud, receiving stolen goods, smuggling and forgery.
  2. The crimes he was sentenced for by the criminal court of Zug were: theft, attempted theft, gang-related theft, repeated theft, receiving stolen goods, commercial fraud, sexual assault of children, public lewd acts, repeated forgery and violation of the Road Traffic Act. Separately, the Canton of Zug convicted him of violating the Federal Law on War Material.
  3. The last time was in 1890, when state councilor Luigi Rossi [de; it] was shot dead during a coup.

References

  1. ^ Haefliger, Markus (27 September 2001). "Zug killings trigger debate about gun laws". SWI swissinfo. Bern. Retrieved 29 December 2024.
  2. ^ Osborn, Andrew (30 September 2001). "Murderer with four guns and a grudge". The Guardian. London. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 10 December 2023.
  3. ^ "Switzerland guns: Living with firearms the Swiss way". BBC News. 8 February 2013. Retrieved 29 December 2024.
  4. ^ Hurka 2017, p. 145.
  5. "Noch 14 Menschen im Spital" [14 people still in hospital]. Walliser Bote (in German). No. 226. Montag. Associated Press. 1 October 2001. p. 1. Retrieved 31 December 2024 – via e-newspaperarchives.ch.
  6. ^ Sinai 2016, p. 214.
  7. ^ Nyffeler & Schwyter 2003, p. 19.
  8. ^ Baur, Alex (16 January 2003). "Friedrich Leibacher: Abgrundtief böse" [Friedrich Leibacher: Deeply evil]. Die Weltwoche (in German). Zurich. ISSN 0043-2660. Retrieved 1 January 2025.
  9. ^ Baur, Alex (23 September 2021). "Nichts an ihm war echt" [Nothing about him was real]. Die Weltwoche. Zurich. ISSN 0043-2660. Retrieved 31 December 2024.
  10. ^ Aschwanden, Erich (19 September 2021). "2 Minuten, 34 Sekunden Horror im Ratssaal: Wie das Zuger Attentat der Schweiz etwas von ihrer Unbeschwertheit nahm" [2 minutes, 34 seconds of horror in the council chamber: How the Zug attack took away some of Switzerland's lightheartedness]. Neue Zürcher Zeitung (in Swiss High German). ISSN 0376-6829. Retrieved 10 December 2023.
  11. ^ Sinai 2016, p. 215.
  12. Nyffeler & Schwyter 2003, pp. 19–21.
  13. ^ Halbrook 2005, p. 27.
  14. ^ Nyffeler & Schwyter 2003, p. 20.
  15. Nyffeler & Schwyter 2003, p. 21.
  16. ^ Halbrook 2005, p. 28.
  17. Nyffeler & Schwyter 2003, pp. 20–21.
  18. Nyffeler & Schwyter 2003, pp. 21–22.
  19. ^ Meloy et al. 2012, p. 271.
  20. ^ Endrass et al. 2011, p. 81.
  21. ^ Rose, David (26 August 2007). "'I've given you the chance to help, but you haven't. Now someone is going to have to die'". The Observer. London: The Guardian. ISSN 0029-7712. Retrieved 11 December 2023.
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  24. ^ Meloy et al. 2012, p. 270.
  25. ^ Mooser, Hubert (11 January 2011). "Waffeninitiative – das wollen Befürworter: Amokläufer wie Leibacher vor dem Töten stoppen?" [Gun initiative - this is what supporters want: to stop mass killers like Leibacher before they kill?]. Blick (in Swiss High German). Zurich. ISSN 1013-0667. Archived from the original on 14 January 2011. Retrieved 11 December 2023.
  26. Nyffeler & Schwyter 2003, p. 10.
  27. Olson, Elizabeth (28 September 2001). "14 Killed in Attack on a Swiss Legislature". The New York Times. p. 6. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 11 December 2023.
  28. ^ "2001: Swiss man kills 14". BBC News. 27 September 2001. Retrieved 11 December 2023.
  29. Mirza, Faryal (23 October 2003). "Zug gunman was "cold-blooded" killer". SWI swissinfo. Retrieved 10 December 2023.
  30. ^ Nyffeler & Schwyter 2003, p. 6.
  31. Osborn, Andrew (28 September 2001). "Deranged Swiss gunman kills 14". The Guardian. London. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 29 December 2024.
  32. Meloy et al. 2012, pp. 270–271.
  33. ^ Schmutz 2021, pp. 18–20.
  34. "Shooting shakes Swiss foundations". BBC News. 28 September 2001. Retrieved 31 December 2024.
  35. Bachmann, Helena (28 September 2001). "The Zug Attack: It Can Happen Here". TIME. New York City. ISSN 0040-781X. Retrieved 10 December 2023.
  36. "Zug stakes claim to killer's estate". SWI swissinfo. Bern. 9 January 2002. Retrieved 9 December 2023.
  37. ^ Hurka & Nebel 2013, p. 398.
  38. ^ Schmutz 2021, pp. 76–77.
  39. ^ "Switzerland steps up security after Zug massacre". SWI swissinfo. Bern. 28 September 2001. Retrieved 29 December 2024.
  40. "Gewaltakte gegen Politiker sind selten in der Schweiz" [Acts of violence against politicians are rare in Switzerland]. SWI swissinfo (in German). Bern. 27 September 2001. Retrieved 31 December 2024.
  41. Bourget, Albertine (23 August 2004). "Zoug se donne un mémorial "Attentat" pour surmonter le 27 septembre 2001" [Zug gives itself an "Attack" memorial to overcome 27 September 2001]. Le Temps (in Swiss French). Geneva. ISSN 1423-3967. Retrieved 31 December 2024.
  42. Schmutz 2021, p. 21.
  43. ^ "Verfahren nach Attentat von Zug eingestellt" [Proceedings after Zug attack discontinued]. Neue Zürcher Zeitung (in Swiss High German). sda. 22 October 2012. ISSN 0376-6829. Retrieved 31 December 2024.
  44. Knellwolf, Thomas (13 August 2011). "Der Kanton Zug verhindert einen Film über Amokläufer Leibacher" [The Canton of Zug prevents a movie about mass murderer Leibacher]. Tages-Anzeiger (in Swiss High German). Zurich. ISSN 1422-9994. Retrieved 10 December 2023.
  45. Walt, Daniel (25 February 2015). "Der Hass aus den Fankurven" [The hatred from the fan stands]. St. Galler Tagblatt (in German). ISSN 1424-2869. Retrieved 29 December 2024.
  46. Endrass et al. 2011, p. 82.
  47. Hurka & Nebel 2013, p. 391.
  48. Hurka 2017, p. 147.
  49. ^ Hurka & Nebel 2013, p. 402.
  50. Halbrook 2005, p. 29.
  51. McConville, Ben; Lawless, Jill (18 December 2012). "Around world, massacres have spurred gun control". Associated Press. Retrieved 11 December 2023.
  52. Hurka & Nebel 2013, pp. 398, 402.
  53. "Switzerland's worst-ever gun massacre". SWI swissinfo. SRF. 25 November 2022. Retrieved 9 December 2023.

Works cited

  • Endrass, Jérôme; Rossegger, Astrid; Urbaniok, Frank; Laubacher, Arja; Pierce, Christine Schnyder; Moskvitin, Konstantin (2011). "Procedures for preventing juvenile violence in Switzerland: The Zurich model". New Directions for Youth Development. 2011 (129): 79–87. doi:10.1002/yd.388. ISSN 1537-5781.
  • Halbrook, Stephen P. (2005). "Citizens in Arms: The Swiss Experience". Journal on Firearms and Public Policy. 17: 21–58. ISSN 1930-7624.
  • Hurka, Steffen; Nebel, Kerstin (1 March 2013). "Framing and policy change after shooting rampages: a comparative analysis of discourse networks". Journal of European Public Policy. 20 (3): 390–406. doi:10.1080/13501763.2013.761508. ISSN 1350-1763.
  • Hurka, Steffen (2017). "When laws bite the bullet (and when they do not)". Rampage Shootings and Gun Control: Politicization and Policy Change in Western Europe. Routledge Research in Comparative Politics. London; New York: Routledge. ISBN 978-1-138-63043-7.
  • Meloy, J. Reid; Hoffmann, Jens; Guldimann, Angela; James, David (2012). "The Role of Warning Behaviors in Threat Assessment: An Exploration and Suggested Typology". Behavioral Sciences & the Law. 30 (3): 256–279. doi:10.1002/bsl.999. ISSN 1099-0798.
  • Nyffeler, Robert; Schwyter, Roland (2003). Untersuchungsrichterlicher Schlussbericht zum Attentat vom 27. September 2001 im Regierungsgebäude des Kantons Zug [Final report by the investigating judge on the attack on 27 September 2001 in the government building of the canton of Zug] (Report) (in German). Examining magistrate of the Canton of Zug.
  • Schmutz, Barbara (2021). Das Attentat von Zug: 20 Jahre danach (in German). Weber Verlag AG. ISBN 978-3-905927-66-5.
  • Sinai, Joshua (2016). "The active shooter threat: Profiling perpetrators for preemptive prevention". In Fredholm, Michael (ed.). Understanding Lone Actor Terrorism: Past experience, future outlook, and response strategies. Contemporary Terrorism Studies. London; New York: Routledge. ISBN 978-1-138-10051-0.
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