The suspect in the fatal shooting of an Italian woman at a rave in Switzerland has been diagnosed with “psychological problems” and has refused to speak while in custody, prosecutors said.
The violence broke out in the early hours of Sunday as an annual rave was coming to an end at the racecourse in Aarau, the capital of Switzerland’s northern canton of Aargau.
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A 22-year-old Italian woman was killed in the attack, while five other people were injured, several of them seriously.
A 43-year-old Swiss man later surrendered to police in Delemont, in Switzerland’s northeastern canton of Jura.
Officers said they discovered two pistols and an AK-47 assault rifle inside the suspect’s car.
Aargau police chief Michael Leupold said investigators had yet to establish a motive. The suspect was not previously known to police and was not believed to have links to extremist groups, he added.
Roses placed by local residents at the scene honouring the victim of the shooting
Police said the gunman appeared to have acted alone, firing about 40 rounds before escaping by car.
The injured included four Swiss men and a German woman, all aged between 24 and 31.
They were taken to hospital with injuries described by police as ranging “from minor to serious”.
Although gun ownership is widespread in Switzerland, shootings remain uncommon.
The organisers of the rave said they were “devastated”. In a statement on their website, they wrote that “the insidious attack on the guests at the Aarauer Rave has broken our hearts.”
“A rave should always be a place of joy and love. Never a place where people are killed, injured or left in fear.”
