On Friday afternoon, a man entered a Raiffeisenbank in the Swiss town of Brienz, threatened employees and forced them to close the doors, according to the Bern cantonal police. The alert was received at 14:55, and officers who rushed to the scene on the main street found three people inside: the suspect and two male bank staff. The area was cordoned off and the building surrounded.

The suspect released the two employees one after the other, then placed his weapon on the floor inside the bank and walked out, apparently with the intention of surrendering. He was arrested without further incident. No one was injured, and the two bank workers received care on site.

A dark Mercedes van without licence plates parked directly in front of the bank entrance was secured and later removed by a recovery vehicle. A bistro employee who witnessed the operation told the Tages-Anzeiger newspaper that she believed the vehicle may have been intended as a getaway car. The special police unit Enzian was deployed and used the bistro’s view into the bank lobby to observe the situation.

The exact motive and the full sequence of events remain unclear. The public prosecutor’s office for the Oberland region has opened an investigation. The suspect remains in custody.