The teenage gunman who killed 15 people in a mass shooting in Germany yesterday had posted a warning on the internet.
At a news conference today, regional Interior Minister Heribert Rech said 17-year-old Tim Kretschmer had warned about his attack in an internet chatroom before the shooting spree.
In the message he said nobody knew what he was capable of.
The teenager shot dead 11 people at his old secondary school and continued his rampage nearby, before turning the gun on himself.
Flags are flying at half-mast across Germany for the victims of the attack.
Nine pupils, aged between 15 and 16, and three teachers were killed at the school.
Another three bystanders also died during a massive manhunt involving hundreds of armed police commandos and snipers in black body armour, assisted by helicopters and dogs.
Less than three hours after the incident began, the gunman turned his weapon on himself after being injured in a fire-fight with police, bringing the death toll to 16.
Kretschmer, who had been under treatment for depression, had warned a chatroom partner about his plans the night before the killings.
However, that person had not taken him seriously, Mr Rech, the Interior Minister of the southwestern state of Baden-Wuerttemberg, said.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel described the crime as ‘incomprehensible’.
‘It is a day of mourning for the whole of Germany. Our thoughts go out to the families and the friends. We are thinking of you and we are praying for you,’ she added.
Interior Minister Wolfgang Schauble ordered flags across Germany to be flown at half mast as a mark of respect.
The shooting started at 8.30am Irish time when the gunman entered the school he left last year, pulled out a 9mm pistol and began his bloody rampage.
