Parents of Aarau mass shooter apologise: "It is terrible"
The parents of Julien G. (43), who shot 40 times into a crowd following a techno party, have spoken to the Quotidien Jurassien.
Parents of mass shooter break their silence
According to Blick, the parents of Julien G. (43), the suspected mass shooter in Aarau, have spoken publicly for the first time. In comments to the local newspaper Le Quotidien Jurassien, they apologised for their son: "Our thoughts are first and foremost with the victims. With the young woman who died, her family, the injured, all the people… It is terrible… We apologise for our son."
Julien G. was arrested nearly a day after the mass shooting in the canton of Jura. On the night into Sunday, he allegedly shot 40 times into a celebrating crowd following a techno party. The 22-year-old Maria S. died in the attack, and six other people were injured.
The father described his son as someone who had never been physically violent within the family. "Sometimes he would lose control, was more aggressive in his words or his demeanour than an ordinary person, but the pressure would ease immediately. Sometimes he said abominable things and apologised 15 minutes later. But outside these crises, he could also be extremely friendly towards us."
The parents last saw their son on the day before the incident. According to the father, Julien G. had announced he was setting out on a multi-day holiday trip. "We planned to meet in Italy in early the following week for a joint family holiday," the father said. The last message the family received was written by Julien G. to his mother on the same day — he told her he had arrived safely. According to the parents' own account, they did not know exactly where he was.
In the night into Monday, police woke the parents. A few hours later, as officers searched Julien G.'s former room in the family home, they informed them that the operation was connected to the shooting.
The parents thus confirm a picture already painted by neighbours from the Jurassian village of Montsevelier to Blick: Julien G. had lived extremely withdrawn. "We were practically the only ones he still saw. We knew nothing about his life. He did not want to talk about himself. Whenever we asked him something, he answered that it was none of our business."
Their son had received a schizophrenia diagnosis long ago. Around 20 years ago, he had been treated in a psychiatric clinic in Delémont JU for three weeks because of it. "If I remember correctly, he was admitted in 2007 because he could no longer bear being among people and could no longer work normally," the father explained to the Quotidien Jurassien. Contrary to official statements, Julien G. had never served in the military.
Source: Blick