Doubts on German gunman e-warning
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AP
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Mart 14, 2009 00:00
WINNENDEN, Germany - German police worked with U.S. authorities Friday to determine if they had fallen victim to an Internet hoax as they investigated a school shooting in southern Germany that killed 15 people.
Tim Kretschmer, 17, gunned down students at his former high school in Winnenden Wednesday before fleeing on foot and by car, killing three more people, and eventually turning a 9-millimeter Beretta pistol on himself. Investigators said Thursday that Kretschmer had posted his intentions in an Internet chat room only hours beforehand, but on Friday they had serious doubts about the authenticity of the posting. Police spokeswoman Brigitte Wahl said that investigators were working with officials in the United States, where the servers that host the German-language Web site are located, but did not expect to clear up the mystery quickly.
Meanwhile, the attack appeared to have triggered copycat threats. In a town near Duesseldorf, northwest of Winnenden, police said they arrested a 17-year-old student Friday who allegedly told his fellow students he was planning an attack on his high school.
During a search of his home in the town of Ennepetal, police said they found instructions for how to make explosives and a "chemical substance" that could have been used in the process. In the town of Ilsfeld, northeast of Winnenden near Heilbronn, police sealed off a high school Friday after learning of a threat posted in an Internet chat room. Authorities found nothing immediately in their search of the school.
Meanwhile, the attack appeared to have triggered copycat threats. In a town near Duesseldorf, northwest of Winnenden, police said they arrested a 17-year-old student Friday who allegedly told his fellow students he was planning an attack on his high school.
During a search of his home in the town of Ennepetal, police said they found instructions for how to make explosives and a "chemical substance" that could have been used in the process. In the town of Ilsfeld, northeast of Winnenden near Heilbronn, police sealed off a high school Friday after learning of a threat posted in an Internet chat room. Authorities found nothing immediately in their search of the school.