Thursday, March 12, 2009
A TEENAGE gunman in combat clothes ran amok at a German school, killing 15 people — including nine pupils — during his rampage before apparently shooting himself.
Tim Kretschmer, 17, the son of a wealthy businessman and gun collector, walked into his old school, Albertville secondary school in the town of Winnenden at about 9.30am (8.30am Irish time) and shot the pupils, three teachers, and a passerby.
Seven of the pupils were girls and two of the teachers and the other adult were women.
Police said he walked calmly along corridors and through classrooms, shooting his victims in the head as children ran and jumped from windows to escape him.
As more than 1,000 police began a massive hunt for him, he hijacked a car before being caught 40km away in a shoot-out, before he apparently turned his pistol on himself. Seven other female pupils were injured in the attack, but none were seriously hurt, police said.
The death toll is one less than Germany’s worst school shooting, when a 19-year-old killed 12 teachers, a secretary, two pupils and a police officer and himself in 2002.
German chancellor Angela Merkel said: "This is a day of mourning for the whole of Germany. It is unimaginable that in just seconds, pupils and teachers were killed — it is an appalling crime."
About 1,000 children attend the Albertville school that Kretschmer left last year. It is one of three on a campus; the others are grammar and primary schools.
After the attack Kretschmer fled the school toward the centre of Winnenden. He went into a car dealership, shooting and killing a salesman and a customer.
A gun battle ensued between him and police. Police said: "According to our current information, he then shot himself."
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