Gunman kills himself after shooting spree

Children comforted each other outside the school

A gunman shot dead three people and seriously injured another during a morning of bloodshed at his former school and workplace near Munich.

Commandos sealed off the school in the town of Freising as the 20-year-old man detonated two home-made bombs inside.

After a tense period in which it was feared he may have escaped, his dead body was found inside.

Pupils were evacuated, some in armoured cars, as helicopters whirred overhead.

He looked for one particular teacher, but when he couldn't find him he shot the head of the school instead

Police spokesman Michael Schmidt

The dead were the gunman's former boss at a home improvement business in Eching, a foreman at the company, and the headteacher of the Freising school.

Another teacher was shot in the face, receiving injuries that were described as serious but not life-threatening.

Manhunt

Police spokesman Wolfgang Sprengl told BBC News Online that the gunman appeared to have used a pipe bomb to blow himself up.

Police led children from the school

However, later reports said it was unclear whether he had killed himself with a bomb or the heavy calibre gun he used against his victims.

The gunman, dressed in military fatigues, began his shooting spree at around 0800 local time (0700 GMT) at the business in Eching, from which he had recently been sacked.

One of the two men he shot there, aged 40 and 38, died immediately, the other from his injuries.

The gunman then travelled to the school, apparently by public transport, where he fired at the headmaster, who later died of his injuries.

"He looked for one particular teacher, but when he couldn't find him he shot the head of the school instead," police spokesman Michael Schmidt told reporters.

Manhunt

"We heard two explosions and then there was a fire alarm," said a pupil, Mike, who declined to give his family name.

Masked police officers joined the manhunt

"We found out only gradually what happened."

Another pupil, 15-year-old Stefan Grueter, said he heard shouting before the fire alarm went off.

"I thought things like this only happened on television," he said.

While some armed police surrounded the school, others undertook a massive manhunt in the surrounding area, in case he had managed to flee the building.

A group of 25 pupils and two teachers remained holed up inside the school while police searched for the gunman. Anxious parents gathered outside.

The school will remain closed for several days while police gather forensic evidence.