A student responsible for Germany's worst post-war massacre was a gun club marksman who shot many of his 16 victims in the head at close range before an unarmed teacher stopped him, police said today.
Robert Steinhaeuser (19) ran amok in his former school yesterday, firing 40 rounds from a pistol in a 20-minute frenzy of revenge for being expelled, before killing himself.
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He was also carrying a legally owned pump-action shotgun, but did not use it in his killing spree which was apparently cut short by the steely courage of a teacher who knew him.
German Chancellor Mr Gerhard Schroeder flew to Erfurt, 320 km (200 miles) south of Berlin, today and laid flowers in front of the Johann Gutenberg school where Steinhaeuser shot dead 13 teachers, two pupils and a policeman. Ten other people were wounded in the attack.
Mr Schroeder also joined 2,000 other mourners at a mass in the city's 12th-century cathedral. The shock that has gripped country since the attack, which national media have already started calling Germany's September 11th, was clear on his face.
"This horrible deed has left us lost and full of grief," Bishop Joachim Wanke said.
Police said Steinhaeuser, clad in black and disguised by a black mask, had access to enough ammunition to kill hundreds of people.
Details emerged today of the bravery of one teacher who trapped the killer in a classroom, possibly preventing an even higher death toll.
The teacher, Mr Rainer Heise, told Germany's ZDF television that he had grabbed the youth's shirt and tried to talk to him.
He then pulled off his mask and I said 'Robert?', Mr Heise said, calling it a Ninja-style mask.
"I said go ahead and shoot me, but look me in the face." Steinhaeuser replied: "That's it for today, and briefly let down his guard," Mr Heise said.
"I pushed him into the room and locked the door," said Mr Heise said. Steinhaeuser shot himself in the head shortly thereafter.
"(Heise) showed a lot of courage," a police spokesman said.
Police said today that Steinhaeuser had licences for both weapons, and for two more that he was not carrying.
"Many of the victims were killed with headshots, he clearly was a trained marksman," said Mr Bernhard Vogel, premier of the state of Thuringia. Erfurt, a town of 197,000, is its capital.
The killing has prompted Germany to question the wisdom of its gun laws under which 10 million weapons are legally held.
It has also led to calls for tighter rules on violent computer games and videos of the type police found in Steinhaeuser's home.