Major operation in Pfungen ZH Perpetrators ram gun store with car - and threaten police with bomb

A large police force was on the scene in Pfungen ZH on Saturday morning. Two men attempted to break into a gun store.

The Zurich cantonal police arrested two men in Pfungen ZH on Saturday who tried to break into a gun store. They are a Slovakian and a Frenchman.

A police spokesman confirmed corresponding reports on news portals at the request of Keystone-SDA. The Diamant special unit was also deployed.

The suspects had driven a vehicle into the window of the store. Around 50 handguns had been stolen from the same store during a break-in at the end of May, the spokesman added.

According to BRK News, one of the men made a threat to the police during the arrest: if the building was entered, there could be an explosion. The police took this warning seriously, cordoned off the area around the gun store and also interrupted rail traffic on the nearby line - around 80 meters from the scene - as a precaution.

Trains stopped running through Pfungen between 5.30 and 8.15 am. Specialists from the Zurich Forensic Institute searched the building thoroughly, but were unable to find any dangerous objects.

Mysterious series of thefts

In the last few days, there has been an increase in thefts from Swiss gun stores. A possible connection with the Pfungen case will be investigated, said the Zurich police spokesman.

On July 17, unknown persons stole handguns in Altstätten SG. On July 21, perpetrators broke into gun stores in Evionnaz VS and Gossau SG. In the Evionnaz case, two suspects were caught within a day. A third person is on the run.