Gunman Kills 16 At German School

17-Year-Old Former Student Dressed In Black Kills Mostly Students Before Killing Himself

(CBS/AP)  A 17-year-old gunman dressed in black opened fire inside his former high school in southwestern Germany on Wednesday killing 15 people before he turned the gun on himself, authorities said.

The gunman entered the school in Winnenden at 9:33 a.m. after classes had begun and opened fire, shooting at random, police said. He killed nine students, three teachers and a passer-by outside the building, officials said. Two other people were killed later.

"He went into the school with a weapon and carried out a bloodbath," said regional police chief Erwin Hetger. "I've never seen anything like this in my life."

His name was Tim Kretschmer, a former student at Albertville, but authorities have no idea why he did it, reports CBS News correspondent Richard Roth.

"Some students died with pens still in their hands," said Heribert Rech, the region's interior minister. "Most were shot in the head. Most of the victims were women and girls."

School officials and former classmates called Kretschmer absolutely average: a mediocre student who was training to become a salesman. His deadly rampage rang alarms at every school in town.

"We had to stay in classrooms and lock our doors and then the police came," said student Simeon Konjack.

Now in Germany they're wondering if some other alarms went unnoticed, Roth reports. A grudge, perhaps, that Kretschmer held in silence.

His high caliber pistol, they know, came from home - where his father, a member of a shooting club, kept 15 guns, but kept only 14 of them locked up.

Triggering a land and air manhunt, the gunman hijacked a car and forced the driver to head south, sitting in the back seat, according to Stuttgart prosecutors, who are leading the investigation.

When the driver swerved off the road to avoid a police checkpoint, he managed to escape and the suspect, identified as Kretschmer ran into an industrial area in the town of Wendlingen with police in pursuit.

There he entered an auto dealership, shooting and killing a salesman and a customer, and then went back outside, prosecutors said.

"In front of the auto dealership the young man then opened fire toward the many police vehicles," prosecutors said. "A gunbattle ensued between the 17-year-old and the many police involved in the pursuit of him. According to our current information, the 17-year-old then shot himself."

Two police officers suffered serious but not life-threatening injuries.

The victims were primarily female. In the school, eight girls and a boy were shot dead, along with three teachers.

In their hunt for Kretschmer, police searched his parents' home in a nearby town. It was there that authorities discovered on of the suspect's father's gun missing.

The death toll was close to that of Germany's worst school shooting.

In the 2002, 19-year-old Robert Steinhaeuser shot and killed 12 teachers, a secretary, two students and a police officer before turning his gun on himself in the Gutenberg high school in Erfurt, in eastern Germany.

Steinhaeuser, who had been expelled for forging a doctor's note, was a gun club member licensed to own weapons. The attack led Germany to raise the age for owning recreational firearms from 18 to 21.

German Chancellor Angel Merkel called the shooting "a horrific crime."

"It is hard to put into words what happened today, but our sadness and sympathy goes out to the victims' families," Merkel said at a news conference.

The European Parliament, meeting in Strasbourg, France, stood in silence for a minute, to honor the victims.

"It is our task as responsible politicians in the European Union and, indeed, all the member states to do our utmost that such deeds can be prevented," said EU assembly president Hans-Gert Pottering, a German.

[rrozsa]

If kids---that's children, mind you---would have had the 'right' to carry a gun on school grounds, some if not allof these kids would have been saved?

Posted by tj217-2009 at 2:04 PM : Mar 11, 2009

====

No one said anything about arming kids. What about teachers and school officials? By the way, a lot of my high school classmates owned rifles for hunting -- often thrown into the back of their pickup trucks if they went hunting early in the morning before school. We never had school shootings, but we did have peronal accountability, corporal punishment and prayer to start the day. It all has to do with a lack of moral moorings in today's generation. If you secularize a society, you take away the foundation for a moral compass.

[rrozsa]

Killers will always prefer defenseless victims.
Posted by gunownerdan at 2:20 PM : Mar 11, 2009

========

Amen! Killers target schools and other venues filled with presumably unarmed vicatims. But more importantly, not one dictator has ever overthrown an armed population.

[incog-nito]

With chronic overpopulation looming around the world I bet you will see of this more and more, people will start snaping and getting serioously **** off when there is a less food, less livable space, less energy etc., so the world has to find the way to get population under control or who knows what future will bring.
Posted by zokin at 9:07 PM : Mar 11, 2009

Yeah sure. The gunman reportedly was begging people for food before he started shooting.

[batchitcrazy]

I thought american students were good at this but these German kids really know how to do it! Seems american kids are lagging in all areas of schooling. C'mon kids you're making the US look second rate. With the last 8 years of being in constant war the americans just be top notch at slaughtering other kids. Someone once told me, "whatever you chose to do in life, make sure you do it the best". I think it was my high school principal. Posted by Kuei1248 at 1:19 PM : Mar 11, 2009
-------------------
and the Principal would shame himself for you for making such a twit comment.
Making light of this issue, regardless of the country of origin is about as low as someone can go here.

[ubrew12]

OneBigMistakeAmerica said: "Germany has the strictest gun laws on the freaking planet.... Guess if somebody decides to kill, they're just going to do it. "

Your chance of dying of a gunshot wound in Germany is 7% of your chance of dying of it in America. Normalized for population, 15 people die in America of guns for every one person in Germany who dies of guns. But, as you suggest, maybe that's just because Germans have a stronger will against gun violence than Americans (tell that to the 20 million people who died in WWII).

[Newster1]

I'm pissed off. Since Roe-V-Wade in 1973 there have been 49,551,053 abortions in the U.S. and 10 times that world wide. And your worried about a few hundred people getting killed by a few crazy people that were going to go out in a blaze of glory anyway? This world is fvcked and needs to get it's priorities in order.

Posted by littlebuddyd

And I'm sure you feel this already overpopulated country and planet will HAPPILY support 49 MILLION more people! The difference between unwanted tissue and 400 adults killed is, those 400 adults were already HERE living lives, with jobs, friends, co-workers, family, doing things, I say those here have priority for a good life not impacted by a Soylent Green or Logan's Run type overpopulation where EVERYONE lives in squallor, filth, disease, underfed, overworked, in tiny cubicles in concrete jungles.
Increase the population you increase exponentially the destruction of the environment, wiping out wildlife species and plants, burn up the fossil fuels that much faster, pollute everything that much more and faster, crimes; murders, rape, robbery, assaults, burglary and more killing sprees as desperate people go overboard.

Enough is enough, we need solid reliable birth control, AND abortion for those little mistakes if birth control fails.

Life is for the LIVING already here, not collections of tissue who have no thoughts, personalities, memories, cant survive outside the womb, and have no life built up.

[Newster1]

The attack led Germany to raise the age for owning recreational firearms from 18 to 21. "

WOW, that really worked!

" it is perfectly exceptable that we have these deaths as long as you will agree that it is perfectly exceptable that we kill 49 million babies. Highest single death rate in this country is caused by abortion. Let's ban that first then let's talk about the 400 or so peeople that have been killed like this in the last ten years.
Posted by littlebuddyd "

Your chances of being killed this way are less than winning the Irish Sweepstakes twice, 400 people killed in a population of 305 MILLION, it's not even close to the number of people who die on freeways in accidents in one month alone.
As far as abortions go, GOOD, we dont need 49 million more unwanted mouths for this already jammed planet to cope with, we dont need those 49 million additional CARS on the road either, nor does the grid need 20 million MORE new homes hooked up to already failing/overtaxed power, water, sewer and road systems.
Enough is enough, till there are NONE in foster care, dont breed!

[realityzone]

This is very sad, RIP to all the victims.

[ubrew12]

littlebuddyd said: "Since Roe-V-Wade in 1973 there have been 49,551,053 abortions in the U.S.... And your worried about a few hundred people getting killed "

You're saying that those few hundred were little more than 2 month old fetuses. They're dead so I guess they can't disagree, and that's probably why you're so ready to belittle their lives in this way, coward. A two month old fetus is the size of a kidney bean, with a brain the size of a mustard seed. I just don't think they equate with a fully grown, fully invested human being with loves, and laughter, and kids depending on them.

Regarding fetuses, abortion is regrettable, but much more regrettable is overpopulation, so I think the 'liberals' have taken the more acceptable path.

Which leaves you belittling the lives of several hundred fully grown human beings. Compartmentalizing their unique and diverse lives into that of a kidney-bean-sized human fetus. As you said, 'some' people have their priorities wrong.

[valh1]

Oh, another shooting. In Germany. Let's see... how to pin this on Bush? I'll have to get back to you. I'm sure I will think of something.

[payasyougo]

YOU (liberals) would save your best friend. This is what liberals do.
-----
You are wrong in this statement. Liberals would save only themselves.

I've known many a Democrat and Republican that support and protect the right to bear arms. Liberals are an entirely different matter.

How long will the gun free buffer zone (DC) survive around the capital? As long as politicians fear the 2nd amendment.

This tragedy and others like it will continue as long as people are taught that there is always someone else to blame for their problems. And liberals are the first in line to tell you its someone else's fault.

[retiredgustav]

We liberals fight the wars for you consevatives.

[gunownerdan]

"All handguns and any guns that are not strictly for hunting should be banned, as they are in the UK. Why does anyone need to own a gun which is only used for killing people?"
Posted by hower4

The right to keep and bear arms is not about hunting. I and millions of Americans have owned guns for many years without killing, threatening, or harming anyone. When guns are banned all it does is give the government a monopoly on weapons and power which is obviously never a good thing. The right to self defense is a basic human right and if someone is threatening my life or someone else's I would not think twice about stopping them even if I have to use deadly force! Killers will always prefer defenseless victims.

[gce651]

Well, let's see. The common thread here appears to be gun ownership!

"The suspect's father, who is a member of a local gun club, had 16 firearms, one of which was missing, police said..."

"In 2002, 19-year-old Robert Steinhaeuser ... was a gun club member licensed to own weapons."

[Kuei1248]

I thought american students were good at this but these German kids really know how to do it! Seems american kids are lagging in all areas of schooling. C'mon kids you're making the US look second rate. With the last 8 years of being in constant war the americans just be top notch at slaughtering other kids. Someone once told me, "whatever you chose to do in life, make sure you do it the best". I think it was my high school principal.

[ubrew12]

Obama_the_Clown said: "Let's have a standing ovation for Germany's strict gun control laws! Hopefully, we can have similar success here in the U,S.!!! "

I also hope so. Only 1/15th as many people in Germany die of gunshot wounds as die in America (normalized for population). That's definitely due to their stringent gun control. Glad to see you on the right side of things, for a change.

[hotwitch]

Why does anyone need to own a gun which is only used for killing people? Posted by hower4

For self-defense you fool.

[r_gn]

It's a tragedy. Do we really need to say more?

I know that people deal with things in their own way but a lot of these comments just seem to be political knife sharpening.
17 people died. It hasn't even been a day. Maybe we could just stick to "It's a tragedy" for a while?

[mejordelahistoria]

wow and the one from Erfurt was a lawful gun owner. Goes to show you..

[abrownjdphd]

Last week I gave a presentation at the National School Safety Conference in New York, a conference focusing on preventing and recovering from school violence. The need for continued work in this area is sadly evident from the rampage school shooting in Germany. From studying past school shootings, we are able to make scientifically informed recommendations for the prevention of, and recovery from, these tragedies. The causes of rampage school shootings, as with rampage shootings generally, are complex and include, to varying degrees, biological, psychological, social, and environmental factors. The specific causes of the shootings in Germany are unknown. Rampage shootings are not limited to schools or the workplace, as is painfully evident from the shootings in Alabama, where at least 10 people were killed. Clearly, this is an area that warrants further study. Unfortunately, the intense focus on, and interest in, rampage shootings that occur in the immediate aftermath of a tragedy quickly fades as the next big story replaces it in the news cycle. The aftereffects of the shootings last long after the press and the influx of professionals and volunteers leave. Those affected by the shootings typically need continued assistance, both supportive and pragmatic. Help with obvious immediate needs is usually forthcoming. Less obvious needs, such as arranging and, when necessary, paying for geographically distant relatives to attend funerals or memorial services, navigating the legal system, and making the practical changes necessitated by the loss of a family member, are often ignored. It is important that these needs are not forgotten. My condolences to the families and friends of the victims and to the communities in which they lived.
Allen J. Brown, J.D., Ph.D., Director, Endicott College Center on Workplace and School Violence (www.endicott.edu/cwsv)