Manhunt after Aarau rave shooting kills a 22-year-old woman

Shots were fired at a rave in Aarau, Switzerland, in the early hours of Sunday.

The shooting took place at the Schachen horse racing track in Aarau.

The event was the Aarau Rave, a techno party at the racecourse.

Aarau is about 40 to 50 kilometres west of Zurich.

Police were alerted to shots around 2:30 a.m. local time.

The rave had been scheduled to end around 2:00 a.m.

The shooting happened as the rave was winding down or just after it ended.

A 22-year-old woman died at the scene.

The woman who died was an Italian national living in Switzerland.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni identified the dead woman as Maria Spinelli.

Four men and one woman, aged 24 to 27, were wounded.

The wounded had injuries ranging from minor to severe.

Police said all six victims were residents of Switzerland.

Two of the wounded are Italian citizens.

Witnesses initially mistook the gunshots for fireworks.

An eyewitness said the music stopped around 2:30 a.m. and shots followed a minute or two later.

Some people took cover behind a DJ booth.

Someone at the rave shouted for everyone to get down.

An eyewitness said a woman who told him to hide was then shot.

Blick reported a video from about 2:35 a.m. in which a series of gunshots can be heard.

A significant number of shots were fired.

Police launched a large-scale nationwide manhunt.

Police said Sunday they had no concrete leads on who was behind the shooting.

Police believed the perpetrator or perpetrators had left the Aarau area.

Police said the shooter or shooters did not currently pose a renewed immediate threat.

Police said the motive and exact circumstances remained unknown.

Police cordoned off a large area around the racecourse, swimming pool and sports fields.

Police urged the public to stay away from the area.

Police took remaining attendees to a nearby gymnasium, where many were questioned.

Police asked witnesses to submit photographs and video.

Police said virtually the entire Aargau force was deployed.

Police in Freiburg, Germany, joined the search.

The cantonal disaster response unit (KKE) was deployed.

A Swiss Army Super Puma helicopter was deployed.

Armed officers were seen on motorways up to about 30 kilometres from the scene.

Armed officers, including some with armoured vehicles or riot gear, patrolled Aarau.

Meloni expressed condolences and said she trusted Swiss authorities to identify those responsible.

Switzerland has one of the highest rates of gun ownership in Europe, though violent shootings are rare.

Switzerland approved tighter gun-control rules in 2019.

Switzerland’s last major mass shooting was in Zug in 2001, when a gunman killed 14 politicians and then himself.

Aarau has about 22,000 to 23,000 residents.

Aarau is about 30 kilometres south of the German border.

DJ Tekibo said he had lost an important friend in the incident.