Police in Switzerland are searching for gunmen who opened fire at a rave in Aarau in the early hours of Sunday, killing one person and injuring five others, some seriously.
The shooting took place near the Aarauer Rave, an annual techno event attended by about 3,500 people at the Aarau racetrack from Saturday afternoon into Sunday morning.
According to Aargau cantonal police, a 22-year-old woman died from her injuries at the scene. Four men and one woman, aged between 24 and 27, were taken to hospital with injuries ranging from minor to serious.
“Searches to find the perpetrators, who are currently unknown, are under way,” police said on X.
Authorities said the motive and exact circumstances of the shooting remain unclear.
Police were unable to immediately confirm how many suspects were involved or what type of firearms were used.
A large-scale police operation was launched in and around Aarau as a precaution. Armed officers were deployed at the scene, the railway station and along the highway up to 30 kilometres away.
With the German border only a few dozen kilometres away, the investigation is also being conducted in cooperation with police in Freiburg, according to German news agency DPA.
‘Several shots’
Local media reported that police were alerted to gunshots before 3am local time while the rave was still underway.
Police spokesperson Vanessa Rumpold told Swiss newspaper Blick that “several shots” had been fired at a large group of people.
Witnesses told Blick that the shooting occurred at around 2:30am. Some initially believed the sounds were fireworks, before realising that gunshots were being fired in bursts.
Many partygoers fled the area and sought shelter in a nearby gymnasium.
Swiss DJ Tekibo, who performed at the event, said he was physically unharmed but deeply affected by the incident. He said he had lost a friend in the shooting.
“Techno and raves are supposed to be spaces of freedom and safety, never places where something like this happens,” he said on Instagram.
The Aargau cantonal police urged members of the public to stay away from the area and appealed for anyone with photographs or video recordings from the rave to come forward.
The scene surrounding the shooting was cordoned off on Sunday. Police said all six victims were Swiss residents.
Rare shooting in Switzerland
The shooting is an unusual incident in Switzerland, a country with a long tradition of civilian gun ownership.
The last major mass shooting in the country occurred in 2001, when a gunman killed 14 members of parliament and local government officials in the canton of Zug before taking his own life.
Switzerland has relatively widespread civilian firearm ownership. Army reservists are permitted to keep their service weapons at home, although they do not generally keep ammunition with them.
According to the Geneva-based Small Arms Survey, Swiss civilians owned more than 2.3 million firearms in 2017 — equivalent to nearly three firearms for every 10 residents.
The figure placed Switzerland 16th globally for civilian firearms per capita at the time.