A teenage gunman in combat clothes ran amok at a German school today killing 15 people, nine of them pupils, before apparently shooting himself.

A teenage gunman shot dead 15 pupils, staff and bystanders at a German school before apparently turning his pistol on himself today.

Students and staff of the German high school where a teenager killed himself and 16 others in 2002 today paid tribute to the victims of the Virginia Tech shooting as they marked the fifth anniversary of their own tragedy.

A teenage gunman has released two of the four youngsters he took hostage today at a school in south-western Germany, police said.

Armed police surrounded a school today in southwest Germany where a gunman holding four young students hostage demanded a ransom of €1m.