- In Escholzmatt LU, a 37-year-old Ukrainian woman was shot dead in the dry stream bed of the Ballenbach on Monday.
- The suspected perpetrator is a 35-year-old Afghan who was found seriously injured at the scene.
- Residents heard two shots at 12:05 p.m. and another two about a quarter of an hour later.
On Monday, in the bed of the dried-up Ballenbach in Escholzmatt LU a dead woman was found. The victim was the 37-year-old Ukrainian woman HT from the village. Suspected killed by an Afghan (35) who was found seriously injured at the scene. According to rumors circulating in Entlebuch, he is said to come from Lucerne or Emmenbrücke. It is unclear whether the Afghan tried to fix himself or was so seriously injured by the woman. What is certain is that the police are assuming there is a strong suspicion of the crime.
The Ukrainian lived at the exit of the village. In a Telegram group, the other Ukrainians from Escholzmatt and the surrounding area mourn the woman. “I didn’t know her personally, but I saw her from time to time in the village,” says a fellow countrywoman. “On Monday morning I met her in Denner,” says another Ukrainian. “She had a son.”
In the Schwadacher district where the crime took place, everyone is wondering what could have happened. «Who found the seriously injured man? “The stream bed is deep and between trees,” asks a resident. “Maybe he even called the emergency services himself.” She was shocked. “It’s so close to us and everything is very mysterious.”
The pensioner heard a total of four shots
A couple who lived not far from the crime scene heard gunshots around lunchtime. “It was 12:05 p.m. when I was standing in the kitchen. Then I heard two shots in a row. And about a quarter of an hour later, two more shots, a few seconds apart,” says the pensioner. “My husband only heard the last two shots because we were sitting outside on the terrace at the time.”
The man says: “We didn’t think anything of it, I thought maybe a crow or magpie was shot at in a yard,” he says. His wife interjects: “No, it sounded different. And I knew the shots were coming from down there.” However, they didn’t see anything until the large police presence showed up around two hours later. “Then I saw someone being dragged out of the stream bed,” says the pensioner. “And when the white tent was put up hours later, it was clear to us that there must have been deaths.”
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Céline Trachsel (ct), has been working for 20 minutes since 2023. She is an editor in the Zurich department.
