Tangled mind of a school killer

Tim Kretschmer was a reclusive gun freak who had dozens of airguns on display in his bedroom. He liked to practise with his father's arsenal of 15 pistols and rifles on a firing range in the basement of his home. Officials described the 17-year-old killer yesterday as "well trained in the use of firearms".

But the teenager who, on Wednesday, went on a rampage at his former school and shot dead 15 people, also saw himself as a failure. He was said to have been mobbed by fellow pupils and teachers, suffered fits of depression, had few friends and had visited a psychiatric clinic at least five times to receive treatment.

Eight of his victims were teenage girls; three were women teachers. Unconfirmed reports suggested that Kretschmer had developed a phobia about women after being repeatedly called a failure by a woman teacher, who allegedly told him that he would "end up as a dustman" if his performance at school did not improve.

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It emerged yesterday that hours before he walked into the Albertville secondary school and murdered 12 of his victims – with shots from his father's Beretta pistol aimed at their heads – Kretschmer had announced the plan for his bloodbath on the internet.

Kretschmer told a chat room friend called Bernd on a German language website at 2.46am on Wednesday – about six hours before the shooting spree: "Shit Bernd – I've had enough. I've had enough of this horrible life. It's always the same. Everyone laughs at me, nobody recognises my potential."

Kretschmer then added: "I am serious. I've got weapons here. I am going to go to my school tomorrow and do a proper grilling." Yet the gunman's chilling warning went unheeded for at least 12 hours. Police investigators revealed yesterday that "Bernd", Kretschmer's chat room partner, did not believe the warning at first and replied with the initials "LOL" – an internet abbreviation for "laughing out loud".

Heribert Rech, the Interior Minister in the southern German state of Baden-Wurttemberg who is in charge of the investigation into the school shooting, said police had only been alerted to Kretschmer's message on Wednesday afternoon. By then, the gunman had moved outside the school, shot dead another three people, and then committed suicide by shooting himself in the head. "His chat room partner was shocked to hear about the shooting spree on the news and told his parents about his message. They then called the police," Mr Rech said.

Later a statement appeared on the Krautchan website saying that "the German press was unfortunately fooled by a forgery". However German police said they were "completely convinced of the veracity of the post".

Kretschmer was allowed to use the guns from the arsenalof a local shooting club near his home, where his father, who is a businessman, was a member. The two also used to practise shooting at targets on a firing range in their basement.

A young man who knew Kretschmer as a child, and who lives nearby, said in an interview yesterday: "He was gun crazy, he kept about 30 airguns that fired plastic pellets in his room. They were stuck on the walls. We used to go out and fire them. He used to keep shooting the pellets at me until it hurt. He didn't seem to know when to stop." Police said Kretschmer's father kept all but one of his guns and 4,600 rounds of ammunition in a safe with an eight-figure combination lock. However, the father kept one gun, a 9mm Beretta pistol, in his bedroom.

Mr Rech said Kretschmer had taken the pistol from his father's bedroom and had somehow been able to open the combination locks on his father's safe to remove more than 200 rounds of ammunition that were used on his shooting spree. A search of the gunman's bedroom showed that he apparently enjoyed violent computer games, such as "Counter Strike", which involves killing people to complete missions.

Kretschmer had been a student at the Albertville school, which he left last last year, for six years. Teachers said he gained average marks in Germany's equivalent of O-levels and had gone on to study business at a private school. They said he had been an "unremarkable" pupil. Apart from shooting, his outside activities included table tennis and weightlifting.

Papers found by police in his bedroom suggested that he was tormented by fits of depression and considered himself to be a failure. A note Kretschmer had addressed to his parents, that was found in his room, spoke of his feelings of "frustration". Another note, addressed to the German army, which concerned his compulsory military service, revealed that Kretschmer had visited a psychiatric clinic five times to receive treatment for depression.

State prosecutors investigating the case said the gunman had told psychiatrists that he wanted to continue treatment at a hospital nearer his home, but had never turned up. Police said his parents had been aware of his depression but had never considered it so serious that it might prompt their son to kill.

"He always used to complain to me about one of his women teachers," one of his neighbours told Germany's populist daily newspaper Bild. "She mobbed him all the time and told him that he would end up as a dustman if he didn't do any better at school. He really hated her, as he did women in general."

The chat-room message

"Bernd, I've had it, I'm sick of this life it's always the same old stuff. Everyone laughs at me, nobody recognises my potential. I'm serious Bernd - I have a weapon here. Early tomorrow morning, I will go to my former school and really toast them. Maybe I'll go too. Keep your ears open, Bernd, you will hear from me tomorrow, remember the name of a place called Winnenden. No reports to the police now, don't worry. I'm just baiting you"