Shooting at rave in Aarau: one dead, five injured – perpetrator at large
Multiple shots were fired at a rave on a horse racing track in Aarau in the early hours of Sunday. A 22-year-old Italian woman was killed and five other people were injured, some seriously.
Large-scale police operation in Aarau after fatal shots fired at rave event
Multiple shots were fired at a rave on Switzerland's largest horse racing track in Aarau in the early hours of Sunday. According to ORF, a young woman was killed and five other people were injured, some seriously. The perpetrator is at large, and the police say that motives and the exact circumstances remain unclear.
Bernhard Graser, spokesman for the Aargau cantonal police, stated in the afternoon that forensic evidence collection and evidence gathering were ongoing at the crime scene. "Possible motives as well as the exact circumstances of the incident remain unclear," Graser said. Regarding the question of whether there was one or more persons involved, there had been no confirmed findings so far.
The perpetrators remain at large. "We have no information as to where the perpetrator or perpetrators could be located," said Graser. Where the perpetrators fled to is the subject of ongoing investigations. Despite the unclear situation, the spokesman ruled out that the perpetrator or perpetrators posed any immediate new danger.
Graser left open whether this was a targeted attack. "This is contradicted by the fact that the rave was already being wound down. A confrontation would also be possible," he said. Nearly the entire Aargau police force was deployed, and the situation was being continuously monitored.
Victim is a 22-year-old Italian woman
According to the Italian government, the deceased is 22-year-old Maria Spinelli. The foreign ministry in Rome stated that two other Italians had been slightly injured. Swiss authorities confirmed that all victims were resident in Switzerland.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni expressed her deepest condolences to the relatives of the deceased. Her thoughts were also with the injured and all people involved in the incident, her office stated.
Four men and one woman aged between 24 and 27 were injured in the incident, some seriously, according to police.
Witnesses initially mistook shots for fireworks
Several eyewitnesses spoke to Swiss newspaper "Blick". One woman reported that visitors had initially mistaken the shots for fireworks. It was only when someone shouted "Everyone down!" that they realised the danger. Her group hid under the DJ stand. A woman was hit by a bullet. All those present were subsequently taken by police to a gymnasium. "It was terrible," the witness said. The incident occurred immediately after the end of the event.
DJ Tekibo, who had been performing at the event, also posted on Instagram Stories. What happened at the rave was "absolutely heartbreaking". "Techno and raves should be a place of freedom and safety," he wrote. He had lost an important person and would be withdrawing for a time.
Event held at Switzerland's largest racing track
The rave took place on a horse racing track in Aarau, approximately 40 kilometres west of Zurich. The organisers had expected around 3,500 people and had promoted the event in advance as the "largest rave in north-western Switzerland". How many people were still on the premises at the time of the shots remained initially unclear.
Police asked the public to send video and photographic material to the Aargau cantonal police Instagram channel to assist with investigations.
Source: ORF