Bloodshed In German School

Police said a former student dressed in black combat gear entered the school in Winnenden on Wednesday (March 11) and began firing around 9:45 a.m. (0845 GMT) The attack appeared to be the worst school shooting in Germany in seven years, taking place in a town of 27,000 near Stuttgart. The gunman killed nine students and three teachers at the school, plus one other person at a nearby clinic, before fleeing with a hostage in a car. He was later killed in a shootout with police. "One of our investigators was told by a car driver that he had been kidnapped by a young man and forced to drive here, and that he managed to flee from the vehicle but the young man was still around on foot," said Hans-Dieter Wagner, police director for the Esslingen area. Two policemen seriously injured in the shootout, bringing the total death toll to 16 including the gunman. "They came into contact with the shooter, he shot at a police vehicle, he opened fire and two of my colleagues were wounded heavily. They are in hospital and stable at the moment. As far as doctors can say their lives are not in danger," Wagner said. Two additional passers-by were also killed. "The man broke into another shop in this industrial area, where he shot at two people, we have to assume that they are dead. When the man left the building he was stopped by a patrol. There was a shoot out. The man fled a few more metres on foot. We found him later lying on the floor behind a vehicle. He died", said Wagner. It was not clear whether the gunman had been shot by police or taken his own life.

MediaScrape | March 11, 2009

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