See more Daily Mail on Google - save us as a Preferred SourceBy JOE ROSSITER, REPORTER Published: 08:38 BST, 30 August 2026 | Updated: 10:46 BST, 30 August 2026
A woman has died and five have been injured after a shooting at a techno rave in northern Switzerland.Police began a manhunt after the shooting, which happened around 2.30am Swiss time – 1.30am in the UK – at the Aarauer Rave, 46km (29 miles) west of Zurich.Officers said a Swiss woman, 22, had died while four men and another women, aged between 24 and 27, were in hospital with injuries ranging from minor to serious.Swiss authorities said the shooter's motive and exact circumstances were unknown and that 'several shots' were fired 'within a large group of people' at the Pferderennbahn Schachen Aarau horse racing track.Some 3,500 people attended the annual techno party, which took place in Aarau between 3pm yesterday and 2am this morning.Swiss police said they were mounting a 'large-scale response' to the shooting and said on X: 'The search for the perpetrators, whose identities are currently unknown, is under way.'In a further update officers said the manhunt was in 'full swing' and it was unclear whether the suspect still had a weapon. Partygoers first thought the shots were fireworks but soon fled to a nearby gymnasium from the racecourse where the rave was held, Swiss newspaper Blick reported. Police cordoned off the area around the Aarauer Rave after one person was killed and five wounded in a shooting last night Swiss officers searched for the gunman, whose identity they said was unknown, as an army helicopter circled the townOthers hid under the DJ booth as one attendee told Blick there had been a 'burst of gunfire'.And an Aarau resident posted a video on social media showing deserted streets and what sounded similar to gunshots in the background.Blick reported an eyewitness seeing a 'shadow with an assault rifle', though this is unconfirmed. Tekibo, a DJ who performed a set at the rave, said on social media he had not been injured in the shooting but that he had 'lost an important friend'.'What happened at the Aarauer Rave is absolutely heartbreaking and something that should never happen at our scene!' he said.'Techno and raves are supposed to be a place for freedom and safety, never a place where something like this happens.'I'm still trying to process what happened cause I lost an important friend and don't have the right words for it...' He added: 'RIP M.'Another DJ who performed at the rave, Sam Madi, said on Instagram he was also unscathed, adding the shooting had left him 'deeply sad'.Basel-based DJ duo Moodos also said they were not involved in the shooting and that they were 'shocked'.An army helicopter was reportedly sent to Aarau, capital of the Aargau canton – similar to a county – alongside police, rescue workers and medical teams.Armed officers were seen on highways up to 30km (18 miles) from the site of the rave. Around 3,500 attended the rave, pictured in promotional material, held west of Zurich in northern SwitzerlandThe Aargau Racing Club said in a statement: 'Our deepest sympathies go out to all those affected and their families who find themselves in this difficult and distressing situation.'The exact circumstances of the incident are currently being investigated with the utmost care.'At this time, no definitive information regarding the background of the incident is available.'Shootings are rare in Switzerland despite widespread gun ownership, though laws have been tightened in recent years.The country's last major shooting was in 2001, when 14 members of parliament and local government in the canton of Zug, near Lucerne, were killed by a gunman who then took his own life.
