German police suspect chat room posts were faked

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(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-03-13 09:24

WINNENDEN, Germany -- The psychological profile of a teenager who went on a shooting spree at his former school and killed 15 people began to take shape Thursday, as investigators described a withdrawn young man from an intact family who broke off psychiatric treatment for depression.

A mother comforts her daughter as they mourn in front of the Albertville school in Winnenden, Germany, Thursday, March 12, 2009. [Agencies] more photos

But investigators faced a setback as they struggled to authenticate a chat room posting that purportedly warned of a bloody rampage hours before 17-year-old Tim Kretschmer wreaked havoc on this quiet town near Stuttgart, southwest Germany.

Kretschmer returned to his former high school on Wednesday to kill nine students and three teachers before fleeing on foot and by car, killing three more people, and eventually turning a 9 mm Beretta pistol on himself after a shootout with police.

A joint statement released late Thursday by regional police and Stuttgart prosecutors said that, "in the course of the afternoon, doubts arose about the veracity of the Internet chat."

Police spokesman Klaus Hinderer said a search of Kretschmer's computer had shown no trace of his having made the chat room posting.

A message posted Thursday to the site -- krautchan.net -- said, "No killing spree was announced here." Prosecutors said they were trying to reach the US-based provider of the site.

Across Germany, government buildings lowered their flags to half staff Thursday, while schools held moments of silence for the victims. Germany's national soccer league, the Bundesliga, said players would wear black armbands in upcoming games.

In Winnenden, hundreds of people filed into a church in a drizzle after dark for a prayer service. A crowd of many more watched on a large video screen outside as a message of condolence from Pope Benedict XVI, a fellow German, was read aloud.

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