The 17-year-old gunman who went on a rampage at his former school and killed 16 people before taking his own life warned of his plans in an Internet chat room only hours before.
Suspect Tim Kretschmer told others in the chat room that he was “sick of this life” and planned to attack his school in Winnenden, Baden Wuerttemburg state Interior Minister Heribert Rech said. Rech said the suspect wrote, “You will hear from me tomorrow, remember the name of a place called Winnenden.”
In the first indication of a motive in the shooting, Rech said the teenager told others in the chat room that, “Everyone laughs at me, nobody recognises my potential. I’m serious, I have a weapon here.”
Tough anti-gun laws but...
Germany will face pressure to re-evaluate its already tough gun laws in response to the school shooting near Stuttgart.
Over the past decade more teenagers have gone on the rampage in Germany than in any other country apart from the US. Germany also has some of the world’s strictest gun laws.
Handguns are on sale only to those 18 or over, with heavier weapons restricted to over 21s. No weapon can be purchased legally without a firearms ownership licence, which is available only after personal checks.
{{/usCountry}}Handguns are on sale only to those 18 or over, with heavier weapons restricted to over 21s. No weapon can be purchased legally without a firearms ownership licence, which is available only after personal checks.
{{/usCountry}}Agencies