Friedrich Leibacher

Who was Friedrich Leibacher?

Friedrich Heinz Leibacher was a Swiss mass murderer who killed 14 members of the Zug canton Parliament, injuring 18 others, before committing suicide in the Zug massacre.

Leibacher had been employed in business, and had several failed marriages to women from the Dominican Republic, of whom one produced a daughter. In 1970 he was convicted of incest, theft, forgery and traffic offences, and sentenced to 18 months detention. He served his sentence in a work-training institution.

After leaving detention, Leibacher became unemployed. Doctors diagnosed a personality disorder and alcoholism and he received an invalidity pension. In 1998 he was convicted of threatening a bus driver employed by the Zug transport company. Leibacher was upset by his treatment, and wrote frequently to the authorities with letters of complaint. The passage of time did not diminish his grievance as Leibacher began to believe he was the target of a government conspiracy led by Robert Bisig, a Cantonal Minister. He sued Bisig but in September 2001 his actions were dismissed by the court.

At 10:30 am on September 27, 2001, Leibacher entered the Zug Parliament disguised as a police officer and armed with a pistol, a revolver, a pump-action shotgun, and a rifle. He made his way to the Parliament chamber where he fired more than 90 shots randomly. Politicians and journalists alike were hit, although Robert Bisig escaped unscathed. Finally, Leibacher detonated a small home-made bomb, then shot himself. He left behind a suicide note describing his action as a "Day of rage for the Zug mafia".