Romanshorn shooting

Last updated

Romanshorn shooting
Location Romanshorn, Switzerland
DateAugust 30–31, 1912
Attack type
Mass murder
Weapons Schmidt 1882 Revolver
Schmidt–Rubin 1911 Rifle
Deaths7
Injured7 (including the perpetrator)
PerpetratorHermann Schwarz

The Romanshorn shooting was an act of mass murder that occurred in the town of Romanshorn, Switzerland, on August 30, 1912. On that evening, Hermann Schwarz, a 25-year-old local resident recently discharged from the army, opened fire at people in the street from the second-story window of his apartment. In the initial shooting and the following siege Schwarz shot a total of twelve men, six of them fatally, before managing to escape into a nearby forest. While police and townsmen engaged in an extensive search operation the gunman killed another person and evaded capture until the next day, when he was shot and wounded and subsequently taken into custody.

Contents

In the following months Schwarz was examined by several psychiatrists and was found to have a mental illness, resulting in his acquittal due to insanity. He was ordered to be institutionalized for the rest of his life. [1] [2]

Perpetrator

Hermann Schwarz was born on November 28, 1887, in Märstetten. He had two sisters. When his father died when he was young, he was raised by his mother in Gottshaus. Apparently he was a problematic child, being described as a "plague for his neighbours" and a "burden to his teachers".

Growing older he reportedly was stubborn, lazy and vindictive, always quick to threaten others with destruction. He also engaged in animal cruelty and poaching and was an avid reader of pulp novels.

Schwarz, who was said to have always carried a loaded revolver with him, probably a Schmidt 1882 service revolver, and also had possession of a rifle, probably a Schmidt–Rubin 1911 service rifle, became a member of the Militärschützenverein Märstetten, and used his membership to accumulate large quantities of ammunition by always buying more cartridges than needed for the shooting exercises.

In February 1912 Schwarz, his mother and two sisters moved into a small apartment in Romanshorn, where, at one point, he began stalking a girl. A relative of that girl, an embroiderer named Wesel, reported his intrusive behaviour to the authorities, and asked for police protection when Schwarz threatened to kill him.

Shooting

As a reservist Schwarz was conscripted to a military exercise that was about to begin on August 26, but showing signs of a mental disorder his mother felt inclined to inform the Gemeindeammannamt (Mayor's Office) about his disturbed condition, and urged Gemeindeammann (Mayor) Etter to notify police. Because of that Schwarz was examined by his battalion's physician and was indeed found to be mentally unfit to fulfill his duties, so he was released from military service and sent home again on August 28. Schwarz was left in the possession of his service rifle and revolver, and took them home with him.

Finding out about the reason for his dismissal, Schwarz reportedly became furious and threatened to shoot Etter. During the night he crept around the house of a woman known to him and smashed in a window. Police were alerted about his behaviour and the Bezirksamt (District Office) ordered him to be confined and put under medical observation.

On August 30, at about 4:00 p.m., Schwarz travelled to Amriswil and bought 80 rounds of ammunition. At 6:00 p.m. two police officers were sent to his home in order to arrest him. They encountered Schwarz in the hallway, but he resisted his arrest, threatened the officers with his revolver and, after a short scuffle, managed to escape into his room on the second floor and lock the door.

Anton Fritsch, a butcher's journeyman living in the same building, was called to assist the officers, but when he tried to break into the gunman's refuge, Schwarz fired through the door, hitting him in the chest four times. As nobody dared to recover him, Fritsch was left bleeding to death. Attracted by the gunshots, people began gathering around the building, whereupon Schwarz started shooting from a window. He shot two people trying to enter. Escaped at about 11:30 p.m. A police officer watched him, shot at him three times, but missed.

Schwarz killed railway employee/collier Franz Xaver Weber with a shot through the heart, as well as a 15-year-old Italian boy, Biagio Pedrollo, who was pushing his bicycle along the street, with shots in the heart and face. He also injured a letter carrier named Hugelshofer, with a shot through the arm, apparently when firing at Etter, who was standing nearby.

Hermann then fatally wounded typesetter Rudolf Thommen with a shot through the lung, then killed inn keeper Friedrich Keller. Forty armed people gathered and fired at the building.

Some members of the local Schützenverein entered the building, Schwarz shot at them barricaded behind a wardrobe, killing Anton Fritsch (lived in the building so killed before?) and Friedrich Keller. He also injured police officer Staheli with a shot in the knee, Heizer shot in arm, manager of gas plant shot in leg, Thommen shot in lung, Italian shot in hip. Escaped 12:30 p.m.

The shooting continued until 11 p.m. At about 12:30 a.m. the building was stormed, though Schwarz had escaped by climbing down a tree or ladder in the backyard. He left his rifle behind, but took the revolver with him. Twelve police officers with dogs began searching for him the next day.

Schwarz escaped into a nearby forest at about 9:30 p.m., from where he continued shooting. Up to his escape he had fired more than 100 times. One of the victims were possibly shot by those firing at the building. Fritsch was killed with four shots, 11 bullets recovered from Keller's body, apparently none of them fired from the gunman's rifle.

Chase and arrest

The next day at 10:30 a.m., a meeting was held, police and firefighters shall comb the forest. Schwartz was also chased by people with bloodhounds. Armed citizens joined the search as well. Two firefighters stayed back nearby a firing range where Schwarz was hiding in a trench. Around 4:30 p.m. one of the firefighters saw Schwarz and fired shots at him from cover. Schwarz killed the other one standing in the open, then escaped. At 7:05 p.m., Schwarz was located again on a meadow near the shooting range, pursued by firefighters and police, and shot by police. Schwartz was incapacitated with two shots, in his arm and leg, his neck was grazed by another shot. He still had 100 rounds of ammunition for his rifle and 150 rounds for his revolver. Schwarz was pronounced captured on August 31 later that evening.

A crowd of 1000 people escorted him to the police building in Romanshorn and threatened to lynch him. Schwartz was examined by 5 doctors in Münsterlingen found to be coherent and sane. He then uttered his wish to be shot dead but later began to show remorse and begged not to be shot.

In the morning hours of September 4 Schwarz was transferred to asylum in Münsterlingen for further observation.

Victims

Aftermath

Schwarz was found to have auditory hallucinations and paranoia and was diagnosed with prodromal schizophrenia.[ citation needed ] During his time in asylum, condition deteriorated, manifesting in a psychosis.

People who knew him stated they didn't believe he was insane but was inspired by pulp novels to commit his deed, and that the only reason for declaring him insane was because he was an interesting case.

On February 20, 1913, court found him to be insane, was acquitted and ordered to be institutionalised for the rest of his life.

After examinations by psychiatrists in Münsterlingen and Münsingen certified his insanity the legal prosecution of Schwarz was discontinued and his lifelong internment in the asylum in Münsterlingen was ordered.

The Carnegie Hero Fund awarded several people with the Carnegie Medal of Honor for their efforts in catching the gunman and tending the wounded. It also made a payment of 2000 francs to a fund created for aiding the victims and their families.

See also

Related Research Articles

Stewart Graeme Guthrie, GC was a New Zealand Police sergeant and is the most recent Commonwealth civilian recipient of the George Cross, the highest award for conspicuous gallantry not in the face of an enemy awarded in certain Commonwealth countries. He received the award for his role in the police response to the Aramoana massacre, in which he lost his life.

The Walsh Street police shootings were the 1988 murders of two Victoria Police officers: Constables Steven Tynan, 22, and Damian Eyre, 20.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aramoana massacre</span> 1990 mass shooting in Aramoana, New Zealand

The Aramoana massacre was a mass shooting that occurred on 13 November 1990 in the small seaside township of Aramoana, northeast of Dunedin, New Zealand. Resident David Gray killed 13 people, including local police Sergeant Stewart Guthrie, one of the first responders to the reports of a shooting, after a verbal dispute between Gray and his next-door neighbour. After a careful house-to-house search the next day, police officers led by the Anti-Terrorist Squad located Gray, and shot and injured him as he came out of a house firing from the hip. He died in an ambulance while being transported to hospital.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shootout</span> Combat between two parties using firearms

A shootout, also called a firefight, gunfight, or gun battle, is a combat situation between armed parties using guns. The term can be used to describe any such fight, though it is typically used in a non-military context or to describe combat situations primarily using firearms.

The Platte Canyon High School hostage crisis was a hostage taking and shooting at Platte Canyon High School in Bailey, Colorado, on September 27, 2006. The gunman, 53-year-old Duane Roger Morrison, took seven female students hostage and sexually assaulted them, later releasing four. When police broke open the classroom's door with explosives, Morrison opened fire with a semi-automatic pistol before shooting hostage Emily Keyes in the head. The other remaining hostages escaped unharmed, and paramedics confirmed that Morrison had committed suicide shortly before police were able to enter the classroom. Keyes was pronounced dead at 4:32 p.m. MDT at Saint Anthony's Hospital in Denver, Colorado after undergoing emergency surgery.

The Loveland River House incident was a hostage crisis that occurred on January 3, 1989 at the River House Restaurant on the Big Thompson River about 4 miles west of Loveland, Colorado, Larimer County, Colorado on U.S. 34. The incident resulted in three deaths.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trolley Square shooting</span> Mass shooting at shopping mall in Utah, US

The Trolley Square shooting was a mass shooting that occurred on the evening of February 12, 2007, at Trolley Square Mall in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. A gunman identified as Sulejman Talović killed five bystanders and wounded four others before being shot dead by several members of the Salt Lake City Police Department. Authorities were not able to determine a motive.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Johnson Space Center shooting</span> 2007 hostage situation and shooting in Houston, Texas

The Johnson Space Center shooting was an incident of hostage taking that occurred on April 20, 2007 in Building 44, the Communication and Tracking Development Laboratory, at the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center (JSC) in Houston, Texas, United States. The gunman, William Phillips, an employee for Jacobs Engineering who worked at Building 44, shot and killed one person and took a hostage for over three hours before committing suicide. Police said Phillips was under review for poor job performance and he feared being dismissed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United States Holocaust Memorial Museum shooting</span> 2009 terrorist attack in Washington, D.C.

At approximately 12:50 p.m. on June 10, 2009, 88-year-old James Wenneker von Brunn entered the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C., with a slide-action rifle and fatally shot Museum Special Police Officer Stephen Tyrone Johns. Other special police officers returned fire, wounding von Brunn, who was apprehended.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cumbria shootings</span> 2010 shooting spree in Cumbria, England

The Cumbria shootings were a shooting spree that occurred on 2 June 2010 when a lone gunman, taxi driver Derrick Bird, killed twelve people and injured eleven others in Cumbria, England, United Kingdom. Along with the 1987 Hungerford massacre and the 1996 Dunblane school massacre, it is one of the worst criminal acts involving firearms in British history. The shootings ended when Bird killed himself in a wooded area after abandoning his car in the village of Boot.

The Kamwenge Trading Centre shooting was a mass murder that occurred in Kamwenge, Uganda on 26 December 1994, when police constable Alfred Ogwang shot at revelers in a disco at Kamwenge Trading Centre, killing 13 people and wounding 14 others. He escaped to Dura afterwards, where he was arrested.

On August 13, 2012, a local constable was shot and killed in College Station, Texas, by the man to whom he was serving a legal notice. Other officers came to the scene and engaged in a shootout that lasted for approximately thirty minutes, during which one bystander was killed and officers were injured. The suspect, who was shot and fatally wounded in the gunfight, was later identified as 35-year-old Thomas Alton Caffall III. Police found a Vz 58 Tactical Sporter rifle, a Mosin–Nagant M91/30 rifle with a bayonet, a .40-caliber SIG Sauer P226 pistol stolen from a police officer, and a PSL rifle with a scope in his house after the shooting.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2012 Webster shooting</span> Firefighters shot by man in West Webster, New York

In the early morning of December 24, 2012, William Spengler, a 62-year-old man living in West Webster, New York, a suburb of Rochester, deliberately set his home and vehicle on fire. He then perpetrated a mass shooting, firing upon first responders. Spengler killed two firefighters, and injured two more and a police officer, before committing suicide. The badly burnt corpse of his sister was later found in his home.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2013 Santa Monica shootings</span> Shooting spree in Santa Monica, California, US

On June 7, 2013, a spree shooting occurred in Santa Monica, California. Its catalyst was a domestic dispute and subsequent fire at a home, followed by a series of shootings near and on the Santa Monica College campus. Six people were killed, including the suspect, and four injured. The shooter — 23-year-old John Zawahri — was killed by police officers when he exchanged gunfire with them at the Santa Monica College library.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Washington Navy Yard shooting</span> Mass shooting in Washington, D.C.

The Washington Navy Yard shooting occurred on September 16, 2013, when 34-year-old Aaron Alexis fatally shot 12 people and injured three others in a mass shooting at the headquarters of the Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) inside the Washington Navy Yard in southeast Washington, D.C. The attack took place in the Navy Yard's Building 197; it began around 8:16 a.m. EDT and ended when police killed Alexis around 9:25 a.m. It is the deadliest mass shooting in Washington, D.C. history, as well as the second deadliest mass murder on a U.S. military base, behind the 2009 Fort Hood shooting.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arms Offences Act</span> Statute of the Parliament of Singapore

The Arms Offences Act 1973 is a statute of the Parliament of Singapore that criminalizes the illegal possession of arms and ammunition and the carrying, trafficking, and usage of arms. The law is designed specifically to make acts of ownership, knowingly receiving payment in connection with the trade of a trafficked armaments and ammunition, as well as the unlawful usage of arms and ammunition a criminal offence.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2016 shooting of Dallas police officers</span> Mass shooting in Dallas, Texas

On July 7, 2016, 25-year-old Micah Xavier Johnson targeted and ambushed a group of police officers in Dallas, Texas, shooting and killing five officers, and injuring nine others. Two civilians were also wounded. Johnson was an Army Reserve Afghan War veteran and was angry over police shootings of black men. The shooting happened at the end of a protest against the police killings of Alton Sterling in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and Philando Castile in Falcon Heights, Minnesota, which had occurred in the preceding days.

The 1991 New Zealand bravery awards were announced via a Special Honours List dated 19 December 1991. Twelve of the 33 recipients were recognised for acts of bravery during the Aramoana Massacre on 13 November 1990.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lim Ban Lim</span> Singaporean outlaw

Lim Ban Lim was a Singaporean gangster and outlaw who killed a police officer and stole at least $2.5 million before he was shot and killed at the age of 32. Lim became one of the country's most wanted fugitives after shooting and wounding a police officer during an altercation in May 1965. After shooting dead another police officer in July 1968, Lim fled the country, with local authorities offering a $17,000 bounty in their search for him. He evaded capture until 1972, when he returned to Singapore and was killed by the Singapore Police Force.

On October 24, 2022, a mass shooting occurred at Central Visual and Performing Arts High School in the Southwest Garden section of St. Louis, Missouri, United States when a 19-year-old former student open fired on students and staff killing two and injuring seven before being fatally shot by police.

References

  1. "Crazy Soldier Kills Four.; A Dozen, Besieging His House, Shoot One Another In a Night Panic". The New York Times . 1 September 1912. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 22 July 2023.
  2. "Madman shoots, kills; captured". The Spokesman-Review . Vol. 30, no. 106. 29 September 1912. p. 2. Retrieved 4 August 2015 via Google News.