A 22-year-old Italian woman was shot dead and five others injured in the early hours of Sunday morning at an outdoor techno rave in Aarau, a Swiss city of around 23,000 people located some 46 kilometres west of Zurich. A large-scale manhunt is under way across Switzerland and into neighbouring Germany, though police say they currently have no leads on the identity, number, or whereabouts of the perpetrator or perpetrators.
The shooting occurred at approximately 02:30 local time at the Schachen horse racing track, which was hosting the annual Aarauer Rave, a techno music festival that had drawn around 3,500 attendees. The victim, identified as Maria Spinelli, died at the scene. Four men and a woman aged between 24 and 27 were hospitalised with injuries described as ranging from minor to severe. Swiss authorities confirmed that two other Italian nationals sustained light injuries and had already returned home. An eyewitness told Swiss newspaper Blick that the shots rang out minutes after the music stopped, initially mistaking them for fireworks. A DJ who had just finished his set described the incident as occurring "straight after our set", while Swiss techno artist DJ Tekibo, who was also performing at the event, wrote on Instagram that he was "still trying to process what happened" after losing a close friend in the incident.
Aarau cantonal police spokesman Michael Leupold told a press conference that investigators were working with Freiburg police across the German border and that all available units had been deployed beyond the canton's boundaries. Police said they could not rule out terrorism, a personal dispute, or an act of settling scores in which bystanders were caught accidentally. A military Super Puma helicopter was also mobilised, alongside rescue teams, firefighters, and medical personnel. The area around the racetrack, the town's outdoor swimming pool, and nearby sports facilities were cordoned off, with the public urged to stay away. Armed officers were spotted along a motorway up to 30 kilometres from the site.
Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni expressed condolences to the victim's family and said she was confident Swiss authorities would "shed full light on what happened". Italy's foreign ministry dispatched officials to Zurich to monitor the investigation, with the Italian Embassy in Bern and the Consulate in Zurich also closely following developments. Police have appealed to witnesses to submit photographs and video footage and set up a dedicated telephone line for eyewitness reports.
The attack is a rare instance of gun violence in Switzerland, which — despite having one of the highest rates of firearm ownership in Europe — experiences few mass shootings. The country tightened its gun control laws in 2019. The organisers of the rave, Agency Events AG, said they were "shaken" and pledged full cooperation with the investigation.