Gunfire at Aarau Rave Party: 22-year-old Killed, Six Injured
At a rave on the Aarau racecourse, a young Italian woman was shot dead and six other people were injured. The perpetrators are still at large.
Nationwide manhunt following fatal shooting at Aarau rave venue
A 22-year-old woman was shot and killed at a rave party on the racecourse in Aarau's Schachen area in the early hours of Sunday. Five other people were injured, some seriously. According to SRF, the Aargau cantonal police have since launched a nationwide manhunt for the perpetrators.
The victims
The killed woman was an Italian national resident in Switzerland. She succumbed to her injuries at the scene. In addition, a German national and four Swiss men aged between 24 and 31 were transported to hospital with minor to serious injuries, the Aargau cantonal police said in a media statement late on Sunday evening. According to police, none of them are in life-threatening danger. The investigators believe all the victims were random targets. Relatives and eyewitnesses can contact 062 835 62 62.
Diplomatic reactions from Italy
Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis telephoned his Italian counterpart Antonio Tajani to express his condolences and assured Italy of support in the investigation. Tajani thanked him for the expression of solidarity. Italy's crisis management team is already looking after the victim's family, the Italian Foreign Ministry said. Representatives of the Italian embassy in Bern and a liaison officer from the state police are to travel directly to the scene to accompany the investigations of the Swiss authorities.
On Sunday afternoon, Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni also expressed her condolences to the relatives of the deceased. Her thoughts were with the injured and all those involved in the incident, her office said. She was following developments through a task force of the Italian Foreign Ministry.
Perpetrators and motive unknown
The Aargau cantonal police continued to conduct a nationwide manhunt on Sunday evening. There are currently no leads regarding the perpetrators, nor any indication as to whether one or more people fired the shots, it was stated. Police believe the perpetrators are no longer in Aarau. In addition to Swiss authorities, investigators from neighbouring countries are involved in the investigation.
Cantonal Police Commander Michael Leupold cited three theories regarding the motive for the shooting on Sunday evening: a terrorist attack, a mass shooting, or an unknown criminal activity "such as, for example, a settling of scores in criminal circles".
Multiple calibres, two shooting sites
Shots were fired at two different locations on the Schachen site, Leupold said. Police assume a large number of shots were fired. Spent cartridges of two different calibres were recovered – on the one hand pistol ammunition, on the other hand casings from a long gun, such as an assault rifle.
The sequence of events on site
At the time of the incident, "Aarau Rave VOL. 7" was taking place in Aarau's Schachen. The organisers had expected around 2,500 visitors. The event had been scheduled from Saturday afternoon until 2 a.m. and had already ended when the shots were fired – approximately one hundred people were still on the premises.
An eyewitness told the Aargau regional television station M1 that the music ended at 2:30 a.m. Most of those present were heading towards the exit when shots rang out within minutes. "At first it sounded like fireworks or firecrackers. Only after a few people said: 'Get down, they're shooting!' did a few people realise what was happening and hid behind the bar's fridge." A woman was lying on the ground, was hit by a shot and died on the spot.
After the shots, over one hundred ravers were questioned by police in a gymnasium.
Large police and military deployment
The cantonal police immediately alerted all available units. Since Sunday night, practically all Aargau police officers have been deployed, a spokesman said. Other cantons provided additional resources. The Cantonal Disaster Response Element (KKE) of Aargau and the special unit Argus were also deployed. An army Super Puma helicopter was also in operation. German police also participated in the manhunt – a spokesman for Freiburg police (Germany) described this to news agency DPA as routine procedure as part of police cooperation.
Source: SRF