in Aarau
What is still unclear about the shooting at the "rave" in Switzerland
A 43-year-old Swiss man has been arrested. However, investigators are still working to establish the final details of what happened at the Aarau racecourse on Sunday at around 2.30 am. The cantonal police will hold a press conference on Wednesday.
Photo: AP, via LaPresse
According to the Swiss cantonal police, a 43-year-old Swiss man opened fire at the electronic music event at the Aarau racecourse. It was around 2:30 a.m. on Sunday; the ‘rave’ was almost over and most people had left when the man opened fire with a pistol and an assault rifle at those still at the racecourse: five people were injured, including a 22-year-old woman, the Italian Maria Spinelli.
In around 22 hours, the investigators managed to solve the case. Of course, there are still some points to be clarified: did the man act alone or did he have an accomplice? What were his motives? Did he fire with the intention of killing someone, or did he try to shoot at random?
Three questions that the investigators will have to answer. But not before Wednesday. The press conference is scheduled for 2 pm.
At present, the Aargau cantonal police have not deemed it necessary to add anything further other than that one person has been arrested. They have not specified where the suspect was apprehended, nor which police unit arrested them or how. This is nothing new in Switzerland. This is how it works: investigations are carried out, arrests are made, the case is examined in depth and any remaining doubts are cleared up; finally, the press and the public are informed. Yet even for the Swiss, one day is too long to wait.
There is an inconsistency in this case.
Firstly, as Markus Melzl, a former investigator with the Basel Criminal Investigation Department, pointed out to the Aargauer Zeitung, “if the police had had too many doubts as to whether the man arrested was the culprit, they probably would not have announced the arrest”, yet “sometimes it is necessary to quell the chaos in order to work with a clear head”, not least because, as the mayor of Aarau told the Neue Zürcher Zeitung, “the sense of security suffers as a result”.
And then there is the motive. What is it? There are those, such as Melzl or the former public prosecutor Edy Müller, who have accepted the ‘murderous rage’ explanation at face value. However, a source within the Aargau cantonal police who spoke to the German radio station SWR3 has acknowledged that investigators are pursuing a second man. In short, a rather lucid and well-organised ‘murderous rampage’.