German police said on Monday that a gunman had died after wounding four people during an attack on a classroom in the university city of Heidelberg, located in the southwestern Neckar River valley.
Some of the wounded, who were taken to hospitals, are in serious condition, and the gunman, a student, subsequently committed suicide, according to information shared by police on Twitter. The crime would have taken place with a long-barreled weapon, and the shooter acted alone.
Bild newspaper said the student opened fire at the scene before pointing the gun at himself. Also according to the German publication, the investigators ruled out political or religious motivations.
Earlier, police said a large detachment of emergency officers and services was in the Neuenheimer Feld area, which is home to several local university facilities, including natural science courses and parts of a hospital.
According to public broadcaster Sudwestrundfunk (SWR), the university has asked students via email not to travel to the campus for the time being, although “there is no longer an imminent threat”.
Heidelberg Mayor Eckart Würzner, 60, in office since 2006, lamented the crime on social media. “Today is a terrible day for all of us,” he said. “I ask that you follow the information and instructions of the police and do not spread premature speculation or rumours.”
Founded in 1386, the University of Heidelberg is the oldest in Germany and initially offered courses in theology, law and philosophy. Eleven graduates of the institution have already been awarded the Nobel Prize, in different categories.
German firearms law was tightened after two attacks on schools in the cities of Freising, in the Bavarian region, and Erfurt, in the east, in 2002. In the first, a former student, expelled from the school of trade, shot three people before killing himself. In the second, a gunman opened fire after saying he would not take a math test and, in total, 17 people died, in addition to the shooter.
Years later, in March 2009, a 17-year-old killed 16 people at his school in Winnenden, in the southwest.
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