Vienna [Austria], August 31: A "large-scale" police manhunt is continuing after a deadly shooting at a rave in northern Switzerland left an Italian woman dead and several injured early on Sunday.
"We are currently in the middle of a large-scale operation in progress," said Michael Leupold, commander of the Aargau regional police, at a press conference on Sunday evening. Until the perpetrators have been identified and stopped, "there is no end to this large-scale operation in sight," he added.
A 22-year-old Italian woman was killed by one or more shots shortly after the end of the event in Aarau, about 40 kilometres west of Zurich.
Investigators currently believe the young woman, who was resident in Switzerland, was a random victim. Five other participants in the rave event were injured, though none were in a life-threatening condition by the evening. Authorities are currently working with three equally weighted hypotheses, Leupold added. The shooting could be a terrorist act, a rampage or a settling of scores in criminal circles. Police said traces of two different types of weapons were found after shots were fired. The event, which ran from Saturday afternoon until 2am on Sunday (0000 GMT), had already ended and only around 100 people were believed to have remained at the venue, the spokesman said.
The area remained extensively cordoned off on Sunday, although police said this was primarily to preserve evidence rather than because of an immediate danger to the public.
Authorities appealed for witnesses to submit video and photographic material. Organizers had expected around 3,500 people at the Aarauer Rave, a long-established event held on the grounds of the Aargau Racing Club.
Source: Qatar Tribune
