30, 2026, following a shooting at a rave. File Photo: Police officers patrol a street in downtown Aarau, Switzerland Sunday, Aug.
A nationwide manhunt is currently underway in Switzerland after a shooting at a rave in the town of Aarau killed a 22-year-old woman and injured five others. The shooting took place at about 2.30 am local time during a techno rave at a covered horse racetrack that organisers had expected about 3,500 people to attend. The 22-year-old woman died at the scene, while five others, aged between 24 and 27, were taken to hospital with injuries ranging from minor to serious, police said.
Police said there were indications the shooter or shooters were no longer in the immediate area, but the search remained active across Switzerland. Cartridges recovered at the scene indicated that two types of ammunition had been used, police said, potentially from a pistol and a larger firearm. Police said they had not yet determined how many attackers were involved or what motivated the shooting. “Where an active shooter is firing into a crowd of thousands of people at an event, it’s perfectly clear that we consider terrorism as a motive,” Aargau police commander Michael Leupold told reporters. “We are treating all three possibilities as equally likely.”
Police have deployed armed officers, convoys and armoured vehicles as the search continues . Large parts of Aarau were cordoned off and police stepped up their presence across the surrounding canton and beyond the town as investigators appealed to the public for photographs and videos that could help identify those responsible.
“In these difficult hours, my full sympathy goes to all people affected by this tragic event,” he said on social media. Swiss president Guy Parmelin offered condolences to the family of the victim.