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A 17-year-old in black combat gear killed 15 people in southwest Germany today in a shooting spree that started at his former school.

The gunman, identified by police as Tim Kretschmer, entered the Albertville-Realschule in Winnenden, a town of 27,000 near Stuttgart, at about 9.30 a.m. (0830 GMT) and began firing with a 9-millimetre Beretta pistol at students in a classroom.