Swiss police arrested a 43-year-old Swiss man early on Monday 31 August on strong suspicion that he opened fire at a rave in the northern town of Aarau, an attack that killed a 22-year-old Italian woman and wounded five other people. No charge has been announced.
The suspect was taken into custody shortly before 1 a.m. Monday, according to police in the canton of Aargau. His arrest ended an international search that had put nearly the entire regional force on the streets for more than a day. Investigators said they believe a single person carried out the shooting.
“Investigations into the exact sequence of events, the background, and the possible motive are currently under way,” Aargau police said in a statement on Monday 31 August, adding that “at this stage, it is believed a lone perpetrator was involved.” Officers did not release the man’s name, in keeping with Swiss privacy rules. His motive remains unknown.
A rave winding down when the shots rang out
The gunfire broke out in the early hours of Sunday 30 August at the “Aarau Rave VOL. 7,” an annual event held at a covered horse racing track in Aarau’s Schachen district. Police said partygoers were getting ready to head home when several shots were fired “at a group of people.” The shooting happened right after the event ended.
Authorities were alerted around 2:30 a.m., and shots rang out between about 2:30 and 3 a.m. The organisers’ listing had advertised the techno event for about 3,500 people, and police said well over 100 were still on site when the shooting happened. Aarau, the canton’s capital, had about 22,900 residents at the end of 2025.
Many in the crowd first mistook the gunfire for fireworks, according to Swiss newspaper Blick, until someone shouted at them to get down. People scattered as the shots kept coming.
The 22-year-old woman killed in the attack died at the scene. “She died instantly, despite attempts to resuscitate her,” police said on Monday. A witness who spoke to Reuters gave a different account, saying she was hit in the back and bled to death despite efforts to revive her.
Casings from two different weapons
Cartridge casings recovered at the racing track pointed to at least two calibers of ammunition, police said. That suggested the shooter used a handgun or submachine gun along with a larger weapon such as an assault-type rifle.
The size of the police response matched the seriousness of what officers found. Police, firefighters and ambulances arrived in large numbers, and the fire department cordoned off a wide area that included the racing track, a swimming pool and a sports field.
Ravegoers who were still on site were taken to a nearby gym, where many were questioned by investigators. Police also asked any witnesses with videos or photos to send them in.
Police weighed three theories
Before the arrest, investigators were openly working through several possibilities. Aargau Canton Police Chief Michael Leupold laid them out at a Sunday press conference.
“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,” Leupold said.
Police spokesperson Bernhard Graser leaned away from terrorism, saying “the fact that the rave was already winding down suggests that’s not the case. A fight could also be a possibility.” He described the attack as extraordinary for Switzerland. “In terms of its nature, this incident is certainly unique in recent years,” Graser said.
The search crossed into Germany
The hunt for the shooter stretched across the border. Police in Freiburg, in neighboring Germany, joined the effort, according to German news agency dpa. Aarau sits about 18 miles south of the German border and roughly 29 miles west of Zurich.
“Right now, virtually the entire Aargau police force is out on the streets,” Graser said on Sunday 30 August, when officers still had no idea where the suspect might be. “The manhunt is continuing nonstop at full speed.”
On Sunday afternoon, with the shooter still at large, police said they had ruled out the chance that whoever was responsible could strike again. By that evening police chief Michael Leupold was saying a residual risk remained while the gunman was free. Locals were asked to stay away from the area while investigators scoured it for links to the crime.
Confusion over who was wounded
The nationalities of the victims shifted as the investigation moved. Police said early on that all of the victims were residents of Switzerland and did not release names. Then Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni identified the woman who was killed and said Italians were among the injured.
“I express my deepest condolences for the death of Maria Spinelli, the young Italian woman who was a victim of the tragic shooting in Aarau, Switzerland,” Meloni wrote. She added that “there are two Italian citizens” among the wounded and said she trusted “the work of the Swiss authorities to shed full light on what happened and identify those responsible.”
On Monday 31 August, Aargau police gave a different account of the survivors. They said the five wounded were four Swiss men and a German woman, aged between 24 and 31, with injuries ranging from minor to serious. That was a change from earlier reports that had listed the wounded as four men and a woman between 24 and 27. Italy has not withdrawn its account that two of the wounded were Italian citizens, and Blick has reported that dual Swiss and Italian citizenship cannot be excluded.
A DJ, a racing club and a rare kind of violence
Swiss DJ Tekibo, who performed at the event, wrote on Instagram that “what happened at Aarauer rave is absolutely heartbreaking.” He added, “Techno and raves are supposed to be a place for freedom and safety, never a place where something like this happens.”
The Aargau Racing Club, which runs the track, said on its website that it extended “our deepest sympathy to all those affected and their families, who are facing this difficult and trying situation.” It thanked emergency responders who worked “professionally and with dedication on the scene.”
Public shootings are rare in Switzerland despite relatively widespread gun ownership, which is part of why the attack drew such a heavy police operation. Graser summed up the reaction inside the force: “We don’t yet know the full extent of it, but based purely on the circumstances, it is something truly extraordinary. That’s why there’s such a large police presence.”
