Video: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/7937994.stm Fifteen people have been killed by a teenage gunman who went on a rampage in south-west Germany, officials say. Among the dead were nine 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 shootings 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." Officials earlier said a 10th pupil had died raising the death toll to 16, but this was later revised down to nine pupils. 'Trembling and crying' Police said the suspect - named locally 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. "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.
Wow.... jesus. Similar deal happened in Alabama just a few days ago didn't it? It's a sad world sometimes when people feel the need to gun others down like this. It seems like this **** is happening way too often now days.
MY GOD that is just horrible what is up with some of these kids today. RIP to all the teachers, by standers and students. not the way i wanted to start my day.
This is horrible.....my prayers are with the familes of the victims. I don't believe in Hell which is too bad because that gunman should be there if there was one. DD
Geneva County Sheriff's Deputy Josh Myers quickly hung up the phone when he got that message on Tuesday and started home to Samson, having no idea what had happened to his wife or his three children. Sheriff's Deputy Josh Myers' wife and toddler daughter were killed; his son and baby daughter survived. Then, another urgent message: "We got notified on the radio that a trooper was chasing a suspect that had fired shots," Myers told reporters on Wednesday. Instead of heading home, the deputy drove to Reliable Metal Products plant in the nearby town of Geneva, where the gunman had shot and killed himself after a bloody rampage in southern Alabama in which he killed 10 people -- including relatives and apparent strangers. Myers had no idea that the man, whose body he saw at the plant, had shot and killed his wife and 1½-year-old daughter, Corinne Gracy, and shot and wounded his 3-month-old baby girl, Ella Kay. Video Watch Josh Myers tell his story: "I need help" » A family friend found the couple's 4-year-old son hiding in the Myers' home after the shooting. "He was present when it happened," Myers said. "He knows something's wrong. He asked where mama was, and I had to tell him she was with Jesus. This is going to take a long time to work through it." Andrea Myers, 31, was holding Ella Kay and talking with her neighbors on their porch across the street when the gunman -- identified by police as Michael McLendon -- opened fire. The neighbors turned out to be McLendon's relatives, although it was unclear why he targeted them. He said one of his neighbors saved his wounded daughter's life. Don't Miss * At least 10 dead in shooting massacre * Authorities search for motive in Alabama rampage "She ran up on the porch and got my baby girl and took her to safety," Myers said. The 10 people McLendon killed before he shot himself to death included his mother, grandmother, other relatives and strangers, police said. Video Watch report on Alabama rampage » Ella Kay, who was shot in the leg, will have surgery on Wednesday at a hospital in Pensacola, Florida, to remove the bullet or shrapnel that is near her femoral artery, Myers said. A day after Tuesday's shootings, Myers stood in front of his home, across the street from the house where his family was killed, and spoke to reporters. advertisement "It's supposed to be me out here getting shot, not my family," Myers said, speaking barely above a whisper. "I'd step out on the street any day and take a bullet for anybody in this community. Anybody. I take that risk when I go to work every day, I take that risk when I'm off. "Nobody's family should have this done," he added, holding pictures of his wife and daughters. Crazy story from that Alabama shooting.
That is something I'll never be able to comprehend - how someone can driven so far as to do something so horrible. I can't help but wonder what the kid's motives were.
So scary that something like this could happen anywhere at any time. Things like this seem to happen in 3's. These two shootings and some guy murdered a pastor in the middle of his sermon last Sunday as well.
Man. I remember reading that. The part that just struck me as like just surreal was the fact that the audience thought it was just part of the sermon. I can't even imagine that and then discovering oops, it wasn't. Sheesh.
Sad indeed. That one story posted about the Alabama shooting is sad. RIP to those you have passed on, and condolences to the families and friends. Just terrible.
