- The police of numerous cantons report dozens of operations on New Year’s Eve.
- Nevertheless, there were hardly any really serious cases. Most of the time it was about fireworks, small fires or disputes.
In Zurich, the big New Year’s Eve fireworks were mostly peaceful from the police point of view. However, visitors repeatedly set off fireworks in the middle of the crowd, which made it necessary for the police to intervene – private fireworks were not allowed at the event.
Tens of thousands at the Zurich fireworks
According to the police, tens of thousands of people visited the festival site and the 20-minute fireworks display in the lake basin after midnight.
During the evening, two people were slightly injured by fireworks in different places in the city of Zurich. The Zurich city police also received repeated reports of physical altercations throughout the night.
Police operations in Aargau
In the canton of Aargau, the police had to move out several times on New Year’s Eve – for example because of mischief with fireworks and damage to property. According to the announcement, damage of an unknown amount was caused to rubbish bins, garbage containers and mailboxes, among other things. Nobody was injured in the incidents.
In Menziken, strangers ignited a battery of fireworks in a vehicle and caused property damage of several thousand francs.
Lots to do for the St. Gallen police
The St. Gallen canton police carried out over a hundred operations on New Year’s Eve. She also had a lot to do in connection with fireworks. More than ten fires were caused by the burning of rockets or other pyrotechnics.
For example, a car shelter burned in Heerbrugg because of a stray rocket, the police said. Fire also broke out in a wooded area near by. There were also several fires in containers.
Police operation because of airsoft pistol
A major police operation in Flawil was triggered by the report that a man had walked through the underpass of the station with a pistol in his hand. Police stopped a 40-year-old man who was carrying an airsoft gun. The man is shown.
There were also various disturbances in the night’s sleep and quarrels in the St. Gallen canton. In Rapperswil-Jona, strangers threw firecrackers into the deer enclosure near the castle.
Fires in the canton of Thurgau
In the canton of Thurgau, too, fires and damage to property occurred occasionally due to the improper use of fireworks. Plastic pipes burned in Sirnach. According to the previous clarifications, fireworks were set off there, as the cantonal police announced.
Overall, the police spoke of a night without any major incidents.
Arrest in Schaffhausen
In Schaffhausen, a 23-year-old man fired around 50 blank cartridges from a stun gun from a roof terrace. The shooter has been arrested and will face criminal charges, police said.
The improper handling of fireworks also led to several interventions by the police and fire brigade in Schaffhausen. There were also disturbances of the peace, damage to property and quarrels, most of which were caused by drunk people.
Quarrel among drunks
In the canton of Schwyz, the police went out around two dozen times on New Year’s Eve, mainly because of disputes with people who were drunk, mischief with fireworks and damage to property.