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Aarau rave shooting
A shooting at a techno rave in the town of Aarau, in the canton of Aargau, killed a 22-year-old woman and injured five others, with police saying the attack happened at about 2:30 a.m. local time on Sunday.
“A nationwide manhunt is currently underway in Switzerland after a shooting at a rave in the town of Aarau”
Police deployed armed officers, convoys and armoured vehicles as a nationwide manhunt continued in Switzerland, and large parts of Aarau were cordoned off while investigators appealed for photographs and videos to identify those responsible.
Aargau police commander Michael Leupold told reporters, "Where an active shooter is firing into a crowd of thousands of people at an event, it's perfectly clear that we consider terrorism as a motive," as authorities said they were treating three possibilities as equally likely.
The shooting took place at a covered horse racetrack where organisers expected about 3,500 people to attend, and police said the 22-year-old woman died at the scene while five others, aged between 24 and 27, were taken to hospital with injuries ranging from minor to serious.
The Italian press coverage also tied the incident to cross-border coordination, saying the Italian Federal Police was following the situation through its crisis cell in coordination with the Italian embassy in Bern and the Consulate General in Basel.
Investigation hypotheses
Police said they had not yet determined how many attackers were involved or what motivated the shooting, and authorities were considering three possibilities: terrorism, a mass shooting or another criminal motive.
Aargau police commander Michael Leupold said, "We are treating all three possibilities as equally likely," while Reuters quoted a witness who initially mistook the sound of gunfire for fireworks after the music stopped.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni sent messages of sympathy reported by Corriere della Sera, and the Italian press also reported that Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani was in telephone contact with the Federal Councillor Ignazio Cassis.
The BBC reported that a 43-year-old Swiss man was arrested after the shooting that killed 22-year-old Italian woman Maria Spinelli, and police said it was assumed the perpetrator acted alone.
In the Spanish-language account, Swiss police commander Michael Leupold said, "Suponemos que son víctimas elegidas al azar," while authorities asked the public for photos and videos and said possible motives and circumstances were still unclear.
Condolences and next steps
Swiss president Guy Parmelin offered condolences to the family of the victim, saying, "In these difficult hours, my full sympathy goes to all people affected by this tragic event," on social media.
“"In these difficult hours, my full sympathy goes to all people affected by this tragic event"”
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni identified the woman who was killed as 22-year-old Maria Spinelli and expressed deepest condolences, while ABC News reported that four men and a woman aged between 24 and 27 were in hospital with injuries ranging from minor to severe.
The BBC said the manhunt began after police first received a report of shots fired at the Schachen race track at about 02:30 local time, and it said the suspect was apprehended shortly before 01:00 on Monday.
Coverage in France described the police press conference of the cantonal police of Aargau, in which federal councillor Dieter Egli also participated, and it reproduced an AFP dispatch that said armed police forces were deployed on the highway up to 30 kilometers from the scene.
The Guardian framed the broader European stakes by noting that "Switzerland has one of the highest densities of firearms in Europe, but violent shootings are rare," and it said authorities implemented stricter firearms legislation in 2019.