Five people died in the northern Swiss town of Wuerenlingen after residents heard shots fired late Saturday, federal police said.
Responding officers from Aargau County Police found their bodies lying outdoors and inside a residence, CNN reported.
A large group of officers and investigators worked through the night on the investigation, which is ongoing, Aargau police said in a statement. The state prosecutor’s office has opened a criminal inquiry.
Authorities have not established a motive or identified the victims. The killer was assumed to be among the dead, a police spokesman told local radio. Swiss police believe that the bloodbath had been triggered by a family argument.
All those killed were adults and an investigation was under way, the statement said. A couple and their son are thought to be among the dead, said the source, who said the area in which they were found was ‘very well maintained, and with no great social problems.’
Wuerenlingen is a community of some 4,500 people north-west of Zurich, police said. The residential area in which the shooting took place is made up of family houses, newspaper NZZ reported.
Switzerland has one of the highest gun ownership rates in the world. In recent times a minority of political opposition has pushed for tighter gun regulations and Switzerland held a referendum in February 2011 for stricter controls although this was defeated.
