Germany massacre sparks guns rethink

Girls mourn the dead at a church service in Erfurt

The murder of 17 people at a school in Germany has prompted new debate over gun laws in several European countries.

Thirteen teachers, a school secretary, two female pupils and a police officer were killed by a 19-year-old former pupil who then turned his gun on himself in the east Germany city of Erfurt on Friday.

The killings, which took place in the space of half-an-hour, were described as a "bloodbath, with bodies found lying all over the Johann Gutenburg School.

Over 1,000 people attended an impromptu service of remembrance for the victims and their families at the Andreas Kirche in the centre of the town.

In Germany, lawmakers approved a government proposal to tighten weapons laws, by coincidence just two hours after the massacre.

	Major school shootings: 1996: 16 children and a teacher shot dead at Dunblane Primary School, Scotland 1998: 4 pupils and a teacher killed by 2 boys aged 11 and 13 at Westside Middle School, Arkansas, in the US 1999: 12 pupils and a teacher killed by 2 teenage gunmen at Columbine High School, Colorado in the US  Full chronology

The proposal, which must go to the upper house, requires a licence to carry gas-powered and blank pistols, banned several kinds of knives completely, along with separate storage of guns and ammunition.

However, experts say the country is awash with illegal weapons smuggled into the country from eastern Europe and the Balkans.

And Interior Minister Otto Schily said: "Whether something like this could have been prevented is an open question."

He warned against drawing "hasty conclusions" from the shooting.

"We must ask much deeper questions about what is going on in our society," he said.

In shock

In Austria, where gun laws already are highly restrictive, a Vienna lawyers' association on Friday called for a sweeping ban that would keep all weapons out of the hands of ordinary citizens.

Students are struggling to understand the killings

In France, politicians began taking a long look at gun laws last month after a man wielding two Glock semiautomatic pistols and a .357 Magnum shot dead eight city officials in the Paris suburb of Nanterre.

Even Switzerland is reconsidering its gun laws, which are the most relaxed in Western Europe.

In Scotland on Friday, parents whose children were slain in the 1996 Dunblane kindergarten shooting appealed for Europe-wide gun curbs.

For now, Germany is trying to come to terms with the killings.

Germany is in mourning in the face of these incomprehensible events

German President Johannes Rau

Wreaths have been laid and candles lit outside the school.

Church bells rang out across the medieval city as details of the tragedy sunk in.

Public buildings will fly the flag at half-mast throughout the weekend but the city and its people are in shock.

German President Johannes Rau said "We cannot find words for what we feel in Germany right now.

"Germany is in mourning in the face of these incomprehensible events."