Schaffhausen attack: Five injured by man wielding chainsaw in Swiss town

Police in Switzerland are hunting for a “dangerous” man suspected of attacking several people with a chainsaw in the middle of the street.

At least five people were injured — two severely — in the attack in the town of Schaffhausen, near the German border.

Police confirmed that the man was carrying a chainsaw but said the attack was not terror related.

Pedestrians and shop owners were asked to evacuate shops and apartments in the immediate location.

Images on social media showed the area cordoned off and numerous police cars on the scene.

Police released an image of suspect and described him as 6ft 2in, balding and unkempt in appearance.

He is still at large and is believed to driving a Volkswagen Caddy with Swiss number plates.

A spokeswoman said officers were alerted to the incident at 10.39am local time (9.39am BST).

She said: “We can’t say exactly what happened at this point. We just know that a person wounded several people.”

Schaffhausen is situated on the upper Rhine river, near the Swiss border with Germany, about 40km north of Zurich.

One onlooker who works in a bakery, Maria Antonocci, said: “We said we had to send out all the customers and open the door.

“Because they shut the road. It’s all locked up from the Visilab to the Löwengässli. It’s weird that something like this happens in Schaffhausen. ”