"It was an ambush" Swiss man survives gunshot to the head after attack - now he speaks out

A Swiss professor has been shot in Brazil. He was seriously injured.

A Swiss professor from Lausanne was seriously injured last Thursday in the Brazilian city of Salvador (Bahia) during an attempted robbery.

The attacker shot the professor in the head while he was traveling with his wife in a car near a beach, reports the news portal "G1". The crime took place on the last day of their vacation.

Now the professor is speaking on "24 heures". He says that the attack happened after a visit to a restaurant. "There was no reason to attack us. Our car wasn't luxurious, it was just an ordinary rental car. I wasn't wearing a watch on my wrist either. There was nothing to steal."

The robbery only lasted a few seconds. "A car stopped in front of ours. It was an ambush. A man got out of the car. He shot at us four times."

The professor was very lucky to survive the attack. "My luck was that the bullet ricocheted inside the car. It lost speed before it reached the back of my head. The bone is harder there. Otherwise I wouldn't be here."

The man was immediately taken to a private hospital and treated in intensive care. Fortunately, he has since been able to leave, although the injuries were severe. His wife, a Brazilian woman, was unharmed in the attack.

The professor will now have to stay in Brazil for several weeks, he says. He will probably only be well enough to return to Switzerland in around three weeks' time. However, his love for Brazil will not change. "I don't want to turn my attack into something dramatic and sensational. Brazil is a country I love. That won't change"

Firearm and knife seized

The perpetrator, a 27-year-old man, had already robbed a pharmacy shortly before the attack on the couple. After this robbery, he tried to flee, but was identified by surveillance footage and witness statements and tracked down by the police.

During the attempted arrest, there was an exchange of gunfire in which the robber was seriously injured. He was taken to hospital, where he died shortly afterwards.

A firearm and two knives were seized from the perpetrator. He was wearing an electronic ankle bracelet, which indicates that he had already been convicted of a criminal offense. However, the exact circumstances of his previous sentence are not known.