Shooting at techno festival in Aarau: Swiss suspect remains silent on motive
A 43-year-old Swiss man is said to have killed a woman and injured six others in a shooting at a rave in Aarau. The motive remains unclear, and a political background has been ruled out.
Shots fired at rave in Aarau: authorities classify act as rampage
A 43-year-old Swiss man from the canton of Jura allegedly opened fire indiscriminately at a techno festival in Aarau in the early hours of Sunday, killing one woman and injuring six others. This was reported by the Süddeutsche Zeitung following a press conference held by police and prosecutors on Wednesday afternoon.
The suspect turned himself in to police in his home canton in the early hours of Monday. Michael Leupold, commander of Aargau police, stated that it was "with near certainty" the sought gunman. There were no indications of further perpetrators or accomplices. The number of injured increased from five to six after a wounded person reported to police only on Monday.
The responsible prosecutor Christoph Rüedi, who interrogated the suspect himself, stated that the man had refused to make a statement. He had only indicated that his health had been poor for some time. A mental illness was possible, though corresponding evidence was not yet available. The motive for the attack remained unclear, as did why the man had deliberately targeted this festival in another canton. There were no indications whatsoever of a political or extremist motive. The authorities are treating it as a rampage — not terrorism, not a contract killing.
Course of events: 40 shots with an assault rifle
Operations commander Matthias Schildknecht described new details of the sequence of events. According to his account, the alleged perpetrator drove his vehicle to a car park near the rave in the early Sunday morning and then proceeded on foot. With an AKS-74 assault rifle — colloquially known as a Kalashnikov — he allegedly fired 40 shots at festival visitors. The festival was officially already over at that time, but more than 100 people were still on the grounds.
In addition to the assault rifle, the man was carrying two pistols. All weapons were registered to him and had been legally acquired. The man had completed training in the Swiss army but left it in 2013 and handed in his service weapon. On his way back to his vehicle, he fired shots at another car in the car park before driving off in the direction of Aarau.
Vehicle information led quickly to identification
The incident in the car park proved crucial for the investigation: on the basis of the vehicle type and number plate, the authorities were able to quickly narrow down the range of possible vehicles. However, the suspect had already turned himself in by that time.
Unanswered questions and information leak
The press conference left central questions unanswered. It remains unclear whether the festival was truly a random target — and why a man would have driven to another canton in the middle of the night to an event that had already ended. Also unresolved is how the suspect was able to legally acquire or retain weapons, including an assault rifle, despite a possible serious mental illness.
Additionally, the press conference raised questions about information policy: many of the details announced on Wednesday had previously been leaked to Italian media. Why Aargau police nevertheless waited several days before informing the public, and how the leak occurred, remained unanswered. The authorities referred to ongoing investigations, which currently prevented full disclosure.
Source: Süddeutsche Zeitung