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German gunman 'warned of attack' Doubt over German gunman warning
(30 minutes later)
A teenage gunman who killed 15 people in a German school and nearby may have given an internet warning before the shootings, German officials say. German police are investigating reports that an internet warning said to be from a youth who later carried out a school gun attack may have been fake.
They say Tim Kretschmer, aged 17, gave the warning in a chatroom before the killings in Winnenden on Wednesday. The message was originally believed to have been posted by gunman Tim Kretschmer six hours before he killed 15 people in the town of Winnenden.
But police later said they were investigating reports that the chatroom message may have been faked. But police told the BBC they had been contacted by internet users and officials who doubted its origins.
They have filed a request for access to the website's US-based server.
Local police spokesman Klaus Hinderer told the BBC they had been alerted to a possible problem with the message by internet users and official sources on Thursday afternoon.
He said they could not yet confirm whether or not the message had been a fake, but that they were investigating.
The German internet site on which the message was alleged to have been posted has been temporarily shut down.
As its servers are based in the US, German police have filed an official request through Interpol to obtain permission to recover information stored on them.
Kretschmer killed 12 people in the school and three in the nearby town of Wendlingen before taking his own life.Kretschmer killed 12 people in the school and three in the nearby town of Wendlingen before taking his own life.
He shot himself after a shoot-out with police in a nearby town.He shot himself after a shoot-out with police in a nearby town.
At a news conference, Baden-Wurttemberg's Interior Minister Heribert Rech said the gunman had spoken of his attack in a chatroom on a German internet portal. 'Had enough'
You will hear from me tomorrow. Just remember the name of the place, Winnenden Tim Kretschmer class="" href="/1/hi/world/europe/7939867.stm">German reaction to shootings class="" href="/1/hi/world/americas/7939727.stm">School shootings: Your stories class="" href="/1/hi/world/europe/7939206.stm">Profile: Tim Kretschmer The internet warning is revealed
He said the message read: "I've had enough. I'm fed up with this horrid life... Always the same". At a news conference earlier on Thursday, Baden-Wurttemberg's Interior Minister Heribert Rech had read out the message.
"I've had enough. I'm fed up with this horrid life... Always the same," it read.
"People are laughing at me... No-one sees my potential... I am scared, I have weapons here, and I will go to my former school tomorrow and then I will really do a grilling.""People are laughing at me... No-one sees my potential... I am scared, I have weapons here, and I will go to my former school tomorrow and then I will really do a grilling."
The message then continued: "Possibly I get away, so keep your ears open, you will hear from me tomorrow. Just remember the name of the place, Winnenden."The message then continued: "Possibly I get away, so keep your ears open, you will hear from me tomorrow. Just remember the name of the place, Winnenden."
Mr Rech said a German man alerted police about the internet warning after the school shooting.Mr Rech said a German man alerted police about the internet warning after the school shooting.
The man said his teenage son told him about the warning only after seeing the news reports. He had not previously taken the threat seriously, responding to Kretschmer's post with "LOL", the chatroom shorthand for "laugh out loud".The man said his teenage son told him about the warning only after seeing the news reports. He had not previously taken the threat seriously, responding to Kretschmer's post with "LOL", the chatroom shorthand for "laugh out loud".
County police president Erwin Hetger has said he could not rule out the possibility that the killings could have been prevented if the serious nature of the message had been recognised earlier.
However, rumours later started spreading online that the message had been faked after the attack. Police said that they were investigating the reports.
TributesTributes
Students and local people have been laying tributes at the schoolFlags were flying at half-mast across Germany on Thursday as a mark of respect for the victims of the shootings. class="" href="/1/hi/world/europe/7939206.stm"> class="" href="/1/hi/in_pictures/7940344.stm">In pictures: German mourning class="" href="/1/hi/world/europe/7937554.stm">How school shooting unfolded
Flags were flying at half-mast across Germany on Thursday as a mark of respect for the victims of the shootings.
Students and local people have also been gathering at the Albertville secondary school, where nine students and three teachers were killed.Students and local people have also been gathering at the Albertville secondary school, where nine students and three teachers were killed.
Many laid flowers, candles, CDs or letters as tributes to those who died.Many laid flowers, candles, CDs or letters as tributes to those who died.
One man held a sign saying: "God, where were you?"One man held a sign saying: "God, where were you?"
"I don't know if I can stay at this school," said student Christin Pluengel. "Every time you enter, the memories come back.""I don't know if I can stay at this school," said student Christin Pluengel. "Every time you enter, the memories come back."
A local shop owner said his 15-year-old son attends the school and had hardly spoken since the attack.
"I would have never thought that something like this could happen here," said Thomas Steininger.
A counselling centre has been set up near to school to help people come to terms with the killings.A counselling centre has been set up near to school to help people come to terms with the killings.
Alexandra Winter, one of the counsellors, told Reuters news agency that many people would be afraid the events could happen again. TIM KRETSCHMER Left Albertville school last year after passing examsOfficials said he was an ordinary pupil who had received good reports from schoolGerman media reported he had begun an apprenticeshipLived in the village of LeutenbachA keen table-tennis player, who aspired to become professional class="" href="/1/hi/world/europe/7938402.stm">Attack raises gun-law questions class="" href="/1/hi/world/europe/7938484.stm">Boy was 'arrogant, not aggressive' class="" href="/1/hi/world/europe/7939206.stm">Profile: Tim Kertschmer Officials said Kretschmer fired more than 100 shots during Wednesday's attack on his former school.
"It's the flashbacks - a door opens, a man comes in with a gun. That image reappears every time someone opens a door to enter the room," she said. Germany's Bild newspaper reported students as saying he had gone into one classroom three times, asking: "Aren't you all dead?"
Psychiatric care
The internet warning is revealed
Officials say Kretschmer fired more than 100 shots during Wednesday's attack on his former school.
Nine students - eight of them girls - and three teachers died at the Albertville secondary school, many of them shot at close range.
Mr Rech said students appeared to have had little time to react.
"When their bodies were later found, some of them still had pens in their hands," he said.
Germany's Bild newspaper quoted one of the injured students, a 15-year-old named Patrick, as saying they had turned over desks to use as cover, then barricaded the door once Kretschmer left.
"I saw that I was hit - in the back, in the arm and in the cheek," he said.
The paper reported others students as saying he had gone into one classroom three times, asking: "Aren't you all dead?"
Hans-Dieter Wagner, police director for the Esslingen area, told the news conference Kretschmer had fled the school on foot.Hans-Dieter Wagner, police director for the Esslingen area, told the news conference Kretschmer had fled the school on foot.
TIM KRETSCHMER Left Albertville school last year after passing examsOfficials said he was an ordinary pupil who had received good reports from schoolGerman media reported he had begun an apprenticeshipLived in the village of LeutenbachA keen table-tennis player, who aspired to become professional class="" href="/1/hi/world/europe/7937554.stm">How school shooting unfolded class="" href="/1/hi/world/europe/7938402.stm">Attack raises gun-law questions class="" href="/1/hi/world/europe/7938484.stm">Boy was 'arrogant, not aggressive' In the following three hours, he injured a passerby and shot dead an employee at a psychiatric clinic. He then shot and killed an employee and a customer at a car showroom in a nearby town. In the three hours after the school shooting, Kretschmer injured a passerby and shot dead an employee at a psychiatric clinic.
He then shot and killed an employee and a customer at a car showroom in a nearby town.
Officials say he still had more than 130 rounds of ammunition left when he was cornered by police and shot himself.Officials say he still had more than 130 rounds of ammunition left when he was cornered by police and shot himself.
The officials also revealed that Kretschmer received psychiatric care for depression in 2008. They said he was meant to continue an out-patient treatment but refused.
However, investigators said they could not speak of a connection between that treatment and Kretschmer's rampage.
Prosecutors say they may charge Kretschmer's father with failing to secure the gun used by the teenager in the attack.
German Interior Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said he could not see how a change in the country's weapons laws would have prevented what happened.
"We are checking everything but our arms law is very strict," he said.
But he said Germany had to consider whether tighter controls on access to violent imagery were needed.