A Swiss tour guide was attacked by a tourist at the Gullfoss waterfall in Iceland. The 36-year-old was injured – and feels let down by the police.
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A parking lot dispute escalated at the Gullfoss waterfall: a tourist stormed into the coach of Swiss tourist Jessica Zimmerman and attacked her. While the 36-year-old was left injured, the perpetrator was able to flee unchallenged by ferry to Denmark.
A Swiss woman reports being the victim of a brutal attack in Iceland. Jessica Zimmerman, who has been a tour guide for a bus company for years, told blue News how she was physically attacked by a tourist at the famous Gullfoss waterfall.
According to her account, the attack was triggered by a dispute over a parking space. A tourist had parked his camper in one of the few bus parking spaces.
Zimmerman approached him and kindly asked him to move. When he didn’t respond, she photographed his license plate with her tablet – and discovered that the driver was apparently from Switzerland. Although the license plate had been removed from the front, a Valais license plate was emblazoned on the back.
Tourist reacts violently to photo campaign
The man obviously didn’t like this at all. According to her, he tore open the bus door and stormed into the coach. “He shouted in English: ‘Give me that fucking picture! Give me that fucking tablet!”, Zimmerman recalls.
He then grabbed her by the leg and dragged her towards the exit. Only another driver was able to intervene, pull the attacker away from her and force him off the bus. The man then fled with his companion.
The 36-year-old speaks of bruises, broken nails and a sprained wrist. “I was screaming like a spit – he should get away, he should get out,” she says.
The Swiss woman suffered bruises after the incident.
ZVG
She found the reaction of the police even more frustrating than the violence itself. “I called the emergency services. But they didn’t want to send anyone because he had already disappeared.”
Instead of taking a report, the officers referred her to an online form – in Icelandic. The next day, Zimmerman had her injuries documented by a doctor.
Tourist has already left Iceland
The authorities only contacted the ferry operators later after pressure from her lawyer. According to the Swiss woman, it turned out that the alleged perpetrator had already left for Denmark on the ferry two days after the incident.
For Zimmerman, the anger remains: “It is incomprehensible to me that something like this is not pursued more quickly.”
According to Icelandic media, the suspect’s name has already been passed on to the authorities, but this has not yet been confirmed. Police spokesman Garðar Már Garðarsson justified the action to the local press: As the crime had already been over, the person concerned had been referred to the online form.
Icelanders react indignantly
blue News wanted to know from the police what the status of the investigation was, whether the vehicle owner was already known and whether the ferry operators had been contacted. There was initially no response. The parking lot operator did not respond either.
While the police remain silent, outrage is boiling over online. “This is an enormous failure on the part of the Icelandic police and also the tour operator they work for,” wrote one woman on Facebook. Many criticize the authorities for not taking the case seriously enough and possibly letting the perpetrator get away scot-free.
Others are upset about the inactive onlookers. “What particularly upsets me – but doesn’t surprise me: so many people stood by and did nothing,” commented one user. “In this society, people avoid conflicts so much that they simply stand by and watch a colleague and innocent woman being physically attacked. It’s a disgrace.”