Police are searching for one or more shooters after gunfire erupted as an overnight techno event ended at Aarau’s horse racing track.
AARAU, Switzerland — A 22-year-old woman was killed and five other people were wounded early Sunday when gunfire erupted near a techno rave at a horse racing track in northern Switzerland, setting off a large police operation and an intensive search for the person or people responsible.
The shooting was reported shortly after 2:30 a.m. Aug. 30 in the Schachen district of Aarau, the capital of Aargau canton. Police said the woman died at the scene. Four men and another woman, ages 24 to 27, were taken to hospitals with injuries ranging from minor to serious. All six victims lived in Switzerland. Authorities had not established a motive or said whether one person or several people fired the shots.
Italian authorities later identified the woman who died as Maria Spinelli, 22, an Italian citizen who had been living in Switzerland. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni expressed condolences Sunday and said two Italian citizens were also among the five people wounded. Italy’s Foreign Ministry said its crisis unit was following the case with the Italian Embassy in Bern and the Consulate General in Basel.
The gunfire came as Aarau Rave VOL. 7, an annual electronic music event at the Schachen horse racing track, was winding down. The event had been scheduled to finish around 2 a.m. Organizers had advertised a crowd numbering in the thousands, but authorities had not established how many people remained at the site when the shooting happened. Police later moved remaining attendees to another location so investigators could speak with witnesses.
Police spokesperson Bernhard Graser said Sunday afternoon that investigators still had no firm information about who carried out the shooting or whether the person or people involved escaped on foot or in a vehicle. Authorities were examining different possibilities but had not determined whether the shooting followed a dispute, targeted particular people or had another motive. Police said speculation about a motive remained premature while evidence was still being collected.
A major emergency response spread across Aarau following the shooting. Cantonal police, firefighters, ambulance crews and a disaster-response unit were deployed, and a Swiss military Super Puma helicopter took part in the operation. Police also increased their presence outside Aarau as a precaution. Authorities in Freiburg, Germany, assisted with search efforts as part of cross-border police cooperation.
Witnesses told news organizations that some people initially believed the sound of gunfire was fireworks. Others sought cover as the situation became clear. Investigators later appealed to anyone who had photographs, video or other material from the event to provide it to police. Authorities had not publicly disclosed how many shots were fired, where the gunfire originated or what evidence had been recovered from the scene.
Police said Sunday afternoon that they believed whoever was responsible was probably no longer in the immediate Aarau area, though the search continued. Graser said virtually the entire Aargau police force had been involved in the operation. Large areas around the racecourse were initially cordoned off while officers searched for evidence and checked possible routes away from the scene.
The Aargau Racing Club, which operates the horse racing grounds, expressed sympathy for those affected and thanked emergency personnel for their response. Organizers of the rave also issued a statement expressing grief over the shooting and said they would cooperate with investigators. Neither statement provided additional information about what led to the gunfire.
The shooting drew widespread attention in Switzerland, where public shootings involving multiple victims are uncommon. Police stressed that the investigation was still in its early stages and had not announced a conclusion about why the attack occurred. Officials also had not publicly linked the shooting to any organization or identified a suspected shooter.
As of Sunday afternoon, no arrest had been publicly announced. The search for the person or people responsible remained active, while investigators continued gathering witness accounts, photographs, video and other evidence. Police had not released a confirmed motive or a detailed account of the events immediately preceding the shooting.
Author note: Last updated August 30, 2026.