Fatal shots at rave in Switzerland: 22-year-old woman killed, several injured

A 22-year-old woman was killed by one or more shots at a rave event in Switzerland. Four men and one woman between the ages of 24 and 27 were injured, some seriously, reported the Aargau cantonal police. All victims reside in Switzerland, the authorities said. One or more perpetrators fired numerous shots early on Sunday morning. The motive for what happened is still unclear. An intensive search was carried out for the perpetrator or perpetrators.

Authorities urged people to avoid the area. Aarau in the canton of Aargau is located about 40 kilometers west of Zurich. The police asked that video and images be sent to the Instagram channel of the Aargau cantonal police. The crime scene was the rave event on the grounds of the Aargau Racing Club. The association expressed its condolences to all the relatives.

Thousands were expected at the racetrack event

«The Aarau rave party was overshadowed by a serious event. The responsible emergency services were immediately alerted and were on site with the necessary resources to deal with the situation and take the necessary measures," the association wrote in a statement.

The organizers were expecting around 3,500 people, according to the website. It remained unclear how many people were on the premises at the time of the shooting. “The event area around the largest racetrack in Switzerland offers a location that couldn’t be more special,” was how the organizer advertised the “largest rave in northwestern Switzerland” in advance.

Witnesses: “It was terrible”

Several witnesses spoke to the Swiss newspaper “Blick”. At first, the visitors thought the shots were fireworks, said one woman. Then someone said “Everyone down!” called. The group then hid under the DJ booth. A woman was hit by a bullet. All visitors to the rave were taken to a gym by the police. “It was terrible,” the witness told the newspaper. The whole thing happened immediately after the end of the event.

The DJ at the event also expressed his deep concern. What happened at the rave was absolutely heartbreaking, wrote DJ Tekibo in an Instagram story. “Techno and raves should be a place of freedom and safety.” He's still trying to process the whole thing. He lost an important person and just couldn't find the right words. He announced that he would retire for a certain period of time.

Police on the German side are also involved in the search

After the incident, the police on the German side were also involved in the general search. This is purely routine in police work, emphasized a spokesman for the Freiburg police headquarters. He did not provide any information about the specific measures. The canton of Aargau lies on the German border.