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Three Wounded in Shooting near Zurich Islamic Center, Target Unclear

by Reuters

   ZURICH --

   Three people were wounded in a shooting near an Islamic center in
   central Zurich on Monday, police said.

   Swiss media said a suspect was on the run after the incident near the
   main train station in Switzerland's financial capital.

   It was not immediately clear whether the Islamic center or any of the
   other businesses nearby were the target of the attack, or what any
   motive might have been.

   People at the scene told Reuters they prayed at the center, which was
   used as a mosque, often by Somalis.

   Zurich police confirmed people had been wounded in the incident on
   Zurich's Eisgasse, but gave no further details. A police official was
   expected to make a statement.

   Police had sealed off the block. Roughly 20 police officers were
   present and an ambulance had driven away, a Reuters witness said. There
   was no word on the condition of the wounded.

   The center is registered as an association enabling Muslims to practice
   their religion, particularly through instruction on Islamic beliefs and
   teachings, as well as providing for the preservation of Islamic
   cultural values and scientific seminars, according to Swiss business
   data website Moneyhouse.

   Across Switzerland, two thirds of its 8.3 million residents identify as
   Christian but the nation has been wrestling with the role of Islam as
   its Muslim population has risen to 5 percent, particularly with the
   arrival of immigrants from the former Yugoslavia.

   In 2009, a nationwide vote backed a constitutional ban on new minarets.

   The Federation of Islamic Organizations in Switzerland said the center
   was not a member and it did not have any direct knowledge of the
   incident.

   Another umbrella group, the Swiss Islamic Central Council, was not
   immediately available for comment.