Swiss man charged after deadly techno rave shooting in Aarau kills Italian woman

A 43-year-old Swiss man has been taken into custody following a fatal shooting at a rave in Switzerland on Sunday.

The arrest follows the death of 22-year-old Italian woman Maria Spinelli and the injury of several others at a techno rave held at a horse‑racing track in Aarau, a town roughly 46 km (29 miles) west of Zurich.

The shooting triggered a nearly 24‑hour manhunt before Aarau canton police confirmed the suspect was apprehended shortly before 01:00 GMT on Monday.

“The investigation into the exact sequence of events, the background, and the possible motive is currently underway. At this time, it is assumed that the perpetrator acted alone,” police said in a statement.

Police first received a report of shots fired at the Schachen race track at about 02:30 local time (00:30 GMT) on Sunday.

Spinelli died at the scene, while four men and a woman, aged between 24 and 27, were taken to hospital with injuries ranging from minor to severe.

An eyewitness told Swiss media outlet Blick that he “suddenly heard the gunshots” minutes after the music stopped, initially believing they were fireworks.

He said he was told to hide by a man and a woman, the latter of whom was shot.

Organisers had expected 3,500 attendees. Aarau, a town of roughly 23,000 residents, lies less than 40 km from the German border, where local media reported that German police were supporting Swiss forces.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni previously said she was confident Swiss authorities would “shed full light on what happened and find anyone responsible.”

Italy’s foreign ministry said in a statement it was sending officials to Zurich “to closely follow the investigation.”

Switzerland has one of the highest rates of gun ownership in Europe, though violent shootings are rare and tighter controls have been introduced in recent years.

The last major shooting occurred in 2001, when 14 members of parliament and local government in Zug, near Lucerne, were killed by a gunman who then took his own life.

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