Swiss city councilor apologizes for firing gun at a Mary and Jesus poster

GENEVA (AP) — A Zurich city councilor has apologized and reportedly sought police protection against threats after she fired a sport pistol at an auction poster of a 14th-century Madonna and child painting and posted images of their bullet-ridden faces on social media.

Green-Liberal party official Sanija Ameti, 32, put the images on Instagram over the weekend before quickly pulling them down. She later explained on social media that she had been practicing shots from about 10 meters (33 feet) and only found the poster as “big enough” for a suitable target.

“I apologize to the people who were hurt by my post. I deleted it immediately when I realized its religious content. I didn’t think about it,” Ameti wrote on X. “I’m incredibly sorry.”

The Zurich chapter of the Green-Liberal party said it has launched expulsion proceedings against Ameti with the national organization. Farner Group, a consulting firm where she worked, said in an email that it had decided Monday to “terminate the employment relationship” with Ameti.

The images continued to circulate in Swiss media and online Tuesday. Daily 20 Minutes published a photo of Ameti standing in what looks like a stone-paneled crypt and pointing a large pistol. Another frame showed bullet holes in the haloed heads and faces of Mary and Jesus.

The poster, an advertisement from auction house Koller, showed details of the work “Madonna with Child and the Archangel Michael” by 14th-century Italian painter Tommaso del Mazza that is set to go up for sale on Sept. 20.

Associates, allies and her employer distanced themselves from the actions by Ameti, in particular ahead of Sept. 22 referendums on national and local issues — including an initiative to better protect biodiversity in Switzerland, which the Green-Liberal party in Zurich supports.

Kath.ch, a site of the media center for the Roman Catholic Church in Switzerland, said Swiss bishops condemned the shooting by Ameti, “in which she aimed at a picture of Mary and the baby Jesus. This hurts the religious sensibilities of many Catholics — including their (the bishops') own.”

The site, using an expletive, said Ameti had triggered a storm of controversy. It said she had reached out to kath.ch by email and told it that she and her family “placed themselves under police protection due to threats.”

Operation Libero, an advocacy group she co-founded that promotes free democracy, said she had asked for forgiveness and acknowledged her actions were “absolutely stupid.” The group called her actions “wrong and inappropriate” and said it supports religious freedom and opposes incitement.

Reports said Ameti, a firearms aficionado and lawyer with expertise in cybersecurity, has carried out stunts in the past, including wearing military fatigues to an event alongside members of the populist Swiss People's Party and posting campaign posters in Albania, where her family hails from.