Shooting at Aarau rave: Four open questions before police press conference
Two days after the attack on a rave in Aarau, the public remains unclear about the perpetrator and motive. The Aargau police will provide information today in Schafisheim.
Four contradictions before law enforcement's appearance in Schafisheim
Nearly 48 hours after the shooting at the Aarau rave in the night of Sunday, the Aargau cantonal police will appear before the press today at 14:00 in Schafisheim. As Blick reports, central questions about perpetration and motive remain open until then.
Single perpetrator or accomplice?
Around 24 hours after the shots, police arrested a man strongly suspected of the crime outside the canton of Aargau. The authorities are officially working on the assumption of a single perpetrator. However, several witness statements contradict this account: some visitors claim to have seen two perpetrators. Additionally, shell casings from two different weapons were found at two different locations — a circumstance that does not rule out the suspicion of a second person involved.
Terrorism, rampage or criminal settlement?
Three motives have been on the table from the start. According to investigators, the timing of the shots and the comparatively small amount of ammunition speak against a terrorist attack. At the crime scene, police found "more than a dozen" rifle shell casings according to their own statements — significantly fewer than the 30 rounds that an AK magazine holds.
Italian media are currently focusing on the rampage theory. They rely on information from investigative circles and report that the shooter was a Swiss person who acted "angry at the world."
Other evidence, in turn, points towards a criminal settlement: the victim, 22-year-old Maria S., carried a "problematic surname" according to her friend Christopher D., which had caused her "some problems". She had been looking for a different life, he told media. Furthermore, the shooter reportedly fired at the vehicle of a traveller near the festival grounds after getting out of his own car. The suspected murder weapon — an AK-74 — is also said to be preferred by mafia-type groups.
The picture remains contradictory: this one targeted shot at the vehicle hardly fits with the rest of the perpetrator's actions. Was it a chance encounter or a deliberate attack?
Which weapon was actually used?
The "Corriere della Sera" claimed in a headline that the perpetrator had fired from a "Swiss army assault rifle". This assessment contradicts the findings of Swiss investigators, who have identified the seized shell casings as belonging to the AK-74 production line — a Soviet design that has nothing in common with the Swiss army rifle. The same newspaper also states that the arrested man is Swiss and a former member of the military who is skilled in handling weapons, and points out that in Switzerland assault rifles from military times are permitted to be stored at home.
Did the perpetrator turn himself in?
The "Repubblica" writes — more cautiously phrased than other outlets — that information suggested the perpetrator had turned himself in to police. The Aargau cantonal police have not yet commented on the circumstances of the arrest.
Which of the circulating versions are accurate and which will prove false will become clear this afternoon. Blick will broadcast the law enforcement press conference live from Schafisheim.
Source: Blick