A 43-year-old Swiss man has been arrested by police after a shooting at a rave in Aargau, northern Switzerland, on Sunday (30 August), according to reports from local media.
One person was killed and four men and one woman - between 24 and 27 years old - were taken to the hospital with injuries ranging from minor to severe, local police and media have reported.
Victim named by Italian PM
In a post on X, Italy's prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, named the woman killed as Maria Spinelli. "My thoughts also go to the other injured, including two Italian citizens, and to all the people involved," she added.
In a statement issued on Monday (31 August), Swiss police said: "As part of the initiated search measures, a 43-year-old Swiss man was apprehended shortly before 1am on Monday, 31 August. The man was subsequently arrested on suspicion of committing a crime."
Investigation under way
"The investigation into the exact sequence of events, the background, and the possible motive is currently under way," they added. "At this time, it is assumed that the perpetrator acted alone."
Authorities were alerted around 2.30am to the shooting in the canton’s capital Aarau, 29 miles west of Zurich, police spokesperson Pascal Wenzel told Swiss public broadcaster SRF.
Rave visitors mistook shots for fireworks
At the time of the incident, the Aarau Rave Vol. 7 was taking place at the horse racing track in Aarau’s Schachen district, SRF also reported. The fire department cordoned off a large area around the site.
Swiss DJ Tekibo, who was performing at the rave, wrote on Instagram that "what happened at the rave is absolutely heartbreaking". "Techno and raves are supposed to be a place for freedom and safety, never a place where something like this happens," he added.
Swiss daily Blick reported that rave visitors initially mistook the shots for fireworks until somebody shouted "everyone down". The newspaper wrote that the shooting took place right after the event ended. Police later took all remaining visitors to a nearby gym, Blick reported.
Aarau has approximately 22,300 residents, and is located around 18 miles south of the German border.
