Swiss police arrest 43-year-old in deadly Aarau rave shooting

Swiss police arrested a 43-year-old Swiss man early on Monday 31 August on strong suspicion of carrying out a shooting at a rave in Aarau that killed a 22-year-old Italian woman and wounded five other people.

The man was apprehended shortly before 1 a.m. and police announced the arrest around midday, ending a search that had run nationwide and into neighboring Germany for most of a day. At this stage, investigators believe a lone perpetrator was involved, Aargau cantonal police said. No charge has been announced.

Gunfire broke out in the early hours of Sunday 30 August as the annual Aarau Rave VOL. 7 was winding down at the Schachen horse racing track in Aarau, the capital of the northern canton of Aargau, about 50 kilometers west of Zurich by road. Police said several shots were fired at a group of people as partygoers prepared to go home.

Who was killed and hurt

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni identified the woman who died as Maria Spinelli, a 22-year-old Italian, and expressed her deepest condolences on Sunday evening. Swiss authorities, citing the country's privacy rules, did not release the names of any of the victims.

Accounts of the wounded shifted over the two days. Aargau police said on Monday 31 August that the five injured were four Swiss men and a German woman, aged between 24 and 31. A day earlier they had described all the victims as residents of Switzerland aged 24 to 27, and Meloni had said two of the wounded were Italian citizens. Italy has not withdrawn that account, and Blick has reported that dual Swiss and Italian citizenship cannot be excluded.

The 22-year-old died instantly despite attempts to resuscitate her, police said. The others were taken to hospital with injuries ranging from minor to serious.

About 3,500 people were expected at the covered racetrack, according to the organisers' listing, and police said well over 100 were still on site when the shooting happened. Authorities were alerted around 2:30 a.m. local time, police spokesperson Pascal Wenzel told the Swiss public broadcaster SRF, and shots were fired between roughly 2:30 and 3 a.m. as the event was ending.

Three lines of inquiry

Police have not established a motive.

Cartridge casings recovered at the scene indicated at least two calibers of ammunition, police said, suggesting a handgun or submachine gun was used alongside a larger weapon such as an assault-type rifle. Police chief Michael Leupold said investigators were pursuing three hypotheses about the attack.

The first hypothesis is a terrorist attack, the second hypothesis is a rampage shooting, and the third hypothesis is simply a criminal incident with a motive that is still unknown to us at this time, a settling of scores in some milieu or whatever it may be

On Sunday, before the man was detained, spokesperson Bernhard Graser cast doubt on the idea of terrorism. He said the rave was already winding down when the shooting happened, which suggested that was not the case, and that a fight could also be a possibility. He added that officers had no information about why the attack was carried out.

Swiss daily Blick reported that ravegoers initially mistook the gunfire for fireworks until someone shouted for everyone to get down. Police later moved the remaining visitors to a nearby gym, where many were questioned, and appealed for witnesses to share any photos or video.

The search across borders

The attack set off a large operation across the canton and an international search for the gunman. Virtually the entire Aargau police force was on the streets, Graser said, and the search continued at full speed through Sunday. Officers, firefighters and ambulances were at the scene in large numbers, and the racetrack, a swimming pool and a sports field were cordoned off.

Aarau sits about 19 kilometers south of the German border, and German officers joined the hunt. Police in Freiburg, in neighboring Germany, took part in the search, the German news agency dpa reported.

Public shootings are rare in Switzerland despite relatively widespread gun ownership. Graser called the shooting extraordinary and, in terms of its nature, unique in recent years, which he said was why so large a police presence had been mobilized.

Voices from the rave

Tekibo, a Swiss DJ who performed at the event, wrote on Instagram that what happened at the rave was heartbreaking. The organisers said they were devastated, writing on their website that the attack on their guests had broken their hearts. The Aargau Racing Club, which runs the track, said it was shocked and thanked the emergency responders.

Condolences from Rome and Bern

Meloni said she trusted the work of the Swiss authorities to establish what happened and identify those responsible. Swiss President Guy Parmelin sent his condolences on X to the family of the Italian victim, said his thoughts were with the injured and wished them a full recovery.

Swiss Justice Minister Beat Jans met German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt in Chiasso, in southern Switzerland, on Monday 31 August. The two jointly praised the working relationship between their police forces. The federal statement on the meeting made no reference to Aarau.

The scene at Schachen

A major police operation continued through Sunday afternoon, and locals were asked to stay away from the area, which investigators scoured for links to the crime.

On Sunday afternoon, before the arrest, police said they had ruled out that the person or people responsible posed any further threat. By that evening police chief Michael Leupold was saying a residual risk remained while the gunman was free.

The techno festival had run from about 3 p.m. Saturday until 2 a.m. Sunday at the covered track, drawing thousands. Blick reported that the shooting took place right after the event ended, as the crowd was dispersing.

Immediately after the shooting, police said they were searching for a suspect and possibly more than one. By Monday, after the arrest, they said they believed a single person had carried out the attack.

What happens next

Aargau police said the investigation into the exact sequence of events, the background and the possible motive was continuing. They released no name or further details about the man, describing him only as a 43-year-old Swiss national, and scheduled a news conference for Wednesday 2 September, saying they would not give more information before then.