Swiss rave shooting kills Italian woman, wounds five

Swiss police were searching Sunday for at least one gunman after a shooting near the Aarauer Rave in Aarau killed a 22-year-old Italian woman and wounded five other people.

Local police said four men and one woman, aged 24 to 27, were taken to hospital with injuries ranging from minor to serious. All the victims were Swiss residents, police said. Italy's foreign ministry said the woman who died was Italian and that embassy officials were going to the scene to follow the investigation.

The shooting happened in the early hours near the annual techno party at the Aarau racetrack, which local media said was attended by about 3,500 people from Saturday afternoon to Sunday morning.

Police spokesman Bernhard Graser said investigators had no reliable information about the attacker or attackers. He said police did not know whether one person or several people were responsible, or whether they fled by vehicle or on foot. He said some elements suggested they might no longer be in the area, but officers were maintaining a significant police presence.

The area around the shooting remained sealed off while officers searched for clues and interviewed eyewitnesses. An AFP journalist saw armed officers at the scene, at the railway station and on a highway up to 30 kilometres away. DPA reported that the investigation was being carried out with Freiburg police, with the German border a few dozen kilometres away.

Witnesses told Blick that shots were fired at about 2:30 am while the rave was still taking place, and that some people initially thought they were fireworks. The Aargau cantonal police urged people to stay away from the area and asked for video recordings or photos from the rave.

Swiss DJ Tekibo, who performed at the rave, wrote on Instagram that he was physically unharmed but had lost an important friend.

The shooting is rare in Switzerland, despite widespread firearm ownership. Army reservists are allowed to keep weapons, but not ammunition, at home. The Geneva-based Small Arms Survey estimated that civilians in Switzerland had more than 2.3 million firearms in 2017, nearly three for every 10 inhabitants.