German school gunman 'kills 16'

The shooting started at a secondary school near Stuttgart

Sixteen people have been killed by a teenage gunman who went on a rampage in south-west Germany, officials say.

Among the dead were 10 pupils and three teachers at the Albertville secondary school in Winnenden, north of Stuttgart, police say.

The gunman, a 17-year-old former pupil, entered the school at about 0930 (0830 GMT) dressed in black combat gear and opened fire at random.

He fled in a stolen car, but was later killed in a shoot-out with police.

See where the school shooting took place

German Chancellor Angela Merkel described the shooting as "incomprehensible".

"It is unimaginable that in just seconds, pupils and teachers were killed - it is an appalling crime," she told reporters.

"This is a day of mourning for for the whole of Germany."

'Trembling and crying'

Police said the suspect - now named as Tim Kretschmer - was killed during a shoot-out with officers in the town of Wendlingen, about 40km (25 miles) away from the school.

He had fled there in a car he had hijacked after the school shooting - killing a passer-by as he made his escape, police said.

Spokeswoman Inka Buckmiller said the shoot-out took place at a car showroom, where two bystanders were killed and two police officers were injured.


GERMAN SCHOOL ATTACKS
2006: A former pupil injures 11 students at a school in western town of Emsdetten before turning the gun on himself.
2002: A former pupil kills 17 people in his school in the eastern city of Erfurt, then kills himself.

In pictures: School shooting
Timeline of school shootings

"The suspect also died as a result of this shooting," she said.

Baden-Wuerttemburg state governor Guenther Oettinger said police killed the suspect, the Associated Press reported.

In total, 10 students, three teachers and three passers-by are thought to be among the dead.

One woman said her daughter had been in the school at the time of the shooting, and she was now at home "trembling and crying".

"She and her friend jumped out of the window. Her friend is now in hospital... We hope that she's all right," the woman said.

"What can I say? I don't understand the world any more."

'Heart-breaking'

Regional police chief Erwin Hetger said the teenager "went into the school with a weapon and carried out a bloodbath", according to the Associated Press.

"I've never seen anything like this in my life," he said.

Mr Hetger said informing the families of what had happened was a heart-breaking job.

"Our thoughts are concentrated on the parents. I have looked some of them in the eye, and it's damn hard to keep your composure," he said.

Local media reported that police had raided the youth's house and recovered 16 weapons.

The teenager's father, thought to be a prominent businessman in the area, was reported to be a member of a local shooting club.

Earlier, the chief reporter of the Stuttgart Journal newspaper, Kevin Latzel, told the BBC that there was a lot of confusion at the school.

"It's very horrible... the parents are crying, the pupils are crying and a lot of police is there and nobody knows really what happened," he said.

About 1,000 children are thought to attend the Albertville school, about 20km (12 miles) north-east of Stuttgart.