Swiss ponder changing tactics after 100 police can’t catch 67-year-old gunman who shot officer

100 Swiss police can’t catch retiree with gun

BIEL, Switzerland — Swiss police say they may have to change tactics in their hunt for a fugitive gunman who shot and seriously wounded one officer in the western city of Biel.

Police commander Francois Gaudy told reporters Friday that officers had tried to avoid bloodshed “but this doctrine has its limits.”

Public anger in Switzerland is growing after police failed to apprehend 67-year-old Peter Hans Kneubuehl two days after he barricaded himself at home in a dispute over the house’s sale.

After holing up in the house Wednesday, Kneubuehl opened fire at police early Thursday and then successfully fled even as police surrounded the house.

Some 100 police officers including SWAT teams, dog handlers and a helicopter equipped with heat-detecting cameras have been deployed to search for the man.