Subject:  German school shooting: "18 Dead" |
Author:
Rick
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Date Posted: 09:10:53 04/26/02 Fri
At least 18 people have been killed after two gunmen opened
fire at a high school in Germany, police say.
Teachers, a police officer and a gunman are among those who died in the shooting at Gutenberg Gymnasium School in the
eastern German city of Erfurt, a police spokesman told CNN.
Police are searching the building room by room, amid fears a
second gunman may be holding dozens of pupils hostage inside.
The dead gunman was a former pupil who had been expelled a
few weeks ago, police confirmed to CNN.
The school has been sealed off by police. It is not clear whether those who were injured are adults or children.
A police official said disgruntled students may have carried out the shooting, which began at around 11 a.m. local time (0900 GMT) .
"Members of our special forces are getting ready to storm the school, a police spokesman told Reuters.
About 750 students aged between 10 and 19 are enrolled at
the school, which celebrated its 10th anniversary in December.
Most of the students had left the building when the shooting broke out, police told AP.
One eyewitness told German television he saw a placard
hanging out of one of the school's windows reading "Help."
"It was chilling. I saw this big placard with the word 'Help' on it and people moving around behind it but I couldn't tell if they were children or attackers," he told RTL.
When CNN called the school a woman said police had told her not to talk to anyone.
The shooting coincided with a debate in the German parliament Friday on tightening gun control legislation, Reuters news agency reports.
Germany already has strict laws governing the right to a gun, but experts say the country is awash with illegal weapons smuggled into the country from eastern Europe and the Balkans.
People wanting to buy a hunting rifle must undergo checks that can last a year, while those wanting a gun for sport must be a member of a club and obtain a licence from the police.
Erfurt, a town of nearly 200,000 people in former communist
East Germany, was founded in the 13th century and was once home to theologian Martin Luther.
In February, a 22-year-old German who recently lost his job shot and killed two former bosses and his old high school's principal in a rampage outside Munich.
Once again I ask " Why do we keep hurting other people ? " I bet most of the people killed didn't ever know their killer . So why hurt people that had nothing to do with it ? And also why do it in the first place ?? Its doesn't help anyone or help stop it from happening again ..
Its starting to looked like this is all there is for news nowadays.. People hurting other people ...I don't think GOD had this in his plan for us, when he made the world ..
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