Return to Erfurt
(11/15/04 10:26 pm)
Ex-student Robert Steinhauser, 19, shot and killed a policeman, two students, 1 secretary, 12 teachers, and finally himself at Gutenburg Gymnasium(combination junior and senior high school) in Erfurt Germany on Friday, April 26, 2002. The motive was that this day final exams were scheduled, and his parents would soon find out that he had dropped out and/or been kicked out 6 months earlier.
So he plunged himself and his family into infamy to avoid the embarassment. Or so said official sources.
I was in Germany recently and visited the city. Here are some tidbits I got from local and national news sources:
THE ACT
--9:45am Robert leaves his home, without a backback or carrying bag, according to his parents. (Spiegal, 19/2002)
--10:30am He packed his black duffel bag with about 550 rounds of ammo and a black mask with black gloves. He packed his pump-action shotgun in a black circular tube. Though his shotgun was never fired. (Stern 19/2002)
--10:30am He leaves his home with a backpack, holding a cigarette(though he didn't smoke), according to his grandmother who lived on a lower floor. (Spiegal, 19/2002)
--10:45am Steini entered the school in normal clothes with a large bag.
--The shooter entered the front, main entrance of the school shortly before 11am. (Stern 19/2002)
--Steinhauser entered the school from the rear.(Spiegal, 19/2002)
--He left the first floor men's restroom wearing a black hooded mask, black pants, black sweat jacket, black gloves, black shoes.
--Student Ronny Mockel, 15, took a round in the stomach and student Susann Hartung, 15, was shot in the back as the shooter shot six times through a closed door that the students were in the process of barricading. Both died.
--Teacher Birgit Dettke was shot five times in the parking lot as the shooter followed her out of the rear area of the school. (Stern 19/2002)
--As a flood of frightened students exit the rear entrance to the school. Many jumped over fences, and then someones shouts: "He's coming out, he's coming! Help!" The black-clothed man with the mask stands over Birgit Dettke and fires. Seven entrance wounds were found on her body. (Focus 19/2002)
--Policeman Andreas Gorski, 39, was shot once in the back and killed as he stepped into the school, at 11:15am. Though the first 911 calls spoke of a gunshots, Gorski was warned only of a disturbance at the school. Acoording to IOs, he was the last victim. (Stern 19/2002)
--11:16am Steinhauser is pushed into a classroom by a teacher, who gives him back his pistol first. He puts his mask back on and shoots himself.
--By 11:20am Steinhauser killed 16 people with 40 shots.(Stern 19/2002) His spree lasted 20 minutes. (Thuringer Allgemeine Zeitung 4-29-02)
--Shortly thereafter, a doctor and her assistant are led into the building, confirm that Gorski is dead. A shot rang out while they were approaching other wounded. (Spiegal, 19/2002)
--"If Robert really hated a teacher, it would have been Heiser" said a Steve, friend of Steinhauser. (Stern 20/2002) Heiser was the teacher who ended the spree by confronting Steinhauser by name and telling him "If you're going to shoot me, then at least look me in the eye." Whereupon Steini allegedly took off his mask, and said "I've had enough for today". The teacher than pushed him into a room, told him to take his gun with him(he handed the Glock back) and then locked the door.
--He fired his suicide shot through his mouth. (Spiegal, 19/2002)
--11:43am A police SWAT team stormed the school. They were wary because of reports from eye- and ear-witnesses reports of a second shooter in the school. They didn't know if they confronted a hostage situation. "It was like a war zone" said one cop. Several victims were still conscious at this time, before they died. Several unwounded surviving teachers wanted to know why it took so long for help to arrive. (Thuringer Allgemeine Zeitung 4-29-02)
--Around 1pm Steinhauser is found in room 111 with a shot through his right temple. A 9mm Glock pistol and his pump-action shotgun are found by his body.
--Around 1pm, Steinhauser's brother Peter enters Robert's room and discovers a bag on the floor with a 100 rounds of ammo. On his desk are the receipts for the two guns. He also noticed the normally messy room was tidied up. (Spiegal, 19/2002)
--2pm In groups of 10, students who were still in the building were led to the courtyard. Police searched them for weapons.
--Psychologists and grief counselors were quickly available to counsel survivors.(Thueringer Allgemeine Zeitung 4-27-02)
--A day after the killings police reduced the number of victims from 17 to 16(not counting Steinhauser). (Thuringer Allgemeine Zeitung 4-29-02)
SECOND GUNMAN
--Denise Hoffman, 15, and five of her fellow students saw what occured. There were two masked men, both about 5'9". One of them had a weapon strapped to his back and was shooting with his pistol. The other one only had a pistol. "One of the two", remembers Steffen Holzhauser, 15, "followed us out to the school yard and ran away. I didn't see where. But not back into the school." (Thuringer Allgemeine Zeitung 4-27-02)
--Up to the evening of the attack, police were looking for a second gunman, who the students spoke of. Did he exist? Or did everyone just see Robert Steinhauser, though seemingly everywhere at the same time? (Stern 20/2002)
--The police first concentrated on securing every corner of the school. Witnesses told of a second shooter, though the police have since ruled this out. (Thuringer Allgemeine Zeitung 4-29-02)
--The atmosphere amongst the teachers at the school is somber. A few teachers and students are certain that there was a second shooter, who escaped with the fleeing students, who now apparently freely roams the streets of the city. One source was a group of 7th graders who fled to the basement library and who told of two masked gunman holding pistols, one of whom had something strapped to his back(the shotgun, presumably). One was wearing light-colored clothing, the other one wearing dark clothes. Three of the youngsters immediately began to record their observations on computers(in the library? unclear--though that's evidence I'd like to see!). And though the official theory is of only one gunman, police are discreetly asking Steinhauser's friends of that other possibility--they are still not sure.(Spiegal, 19/2002)
AFTERMATH
--SWAT discovered two empty magazines(capacity 17 round each), plus one in the pistol. 40 rounds were fired in all. The shotgun was never fired. (Thuringer Allgemeine Zeitung 4-29-02)
--Steinhauser fired over 70 shots. (Stern 20/2002)
--Like almost all US cases, the act was planned. Steinhauser in fact planned it for a year. (Focus 19/2002)
--Steinhauser's crime was a copycat, according to one official. On his computer's hard drive police found extensive documentation on the Columbine massacre. (Focus 19/2002)
--According to sources, the relatives of the victims are attempting to get together and with the help of a lawyer want an inquiry to determine the exact circumstances of the murders and possible missed chances of a rescue of injured victims. (Thuringer Allgemeine Zeitung 4-29-02)
[Apparently, the police report has not and will not be publicly released. And you thought JeffCo was stingy with info!]
THE SUSPECT
--He and and his family had traveled to the US about two years prior.(Spiegal 19/2002)
--His favorite video game was the violent "Counterstrike" and his favorite band was "Slipknot" from Iowa. He and his friends were pretty adept at computers, to the extent of setting up their own LAN network. He would always dress in black jeans, black sweatshirt, with a black leather jacket.(Spiegal 19/2002)
--He was known to sleep in class.(Spiegal 19/2002)
--Drama Club? Though Steini was an indifferent student at best, he showed particular interest in a play he and four other students were assigned to direct. They had the idea of putting Sophocles' tragedy "Antigone" into a modern 'mafia' setting. Robert, who designed sets and costumes, took a leading role in the endeavor. "It was astounding", remembers one of the actors, "how imaginative Robert was about what we should wear while we were doing our lines."
--Steinhauser was not a loner, he ran with a clique of otherwise fairly normal kids. He loved his mother, and many described him as helpful and friendly. Though one friend claimed that six months before, Robert started talking about how all the teachers should be shot. Someone finally said "So go ahead and do it." Steini said "I can't, because of my parents." (Stern 20/2002)
--Even afterwards, several of the people who knew him are still totally astounded at the act that he must have planned for such a long time. Many described him as fairly normal, and he was not unpopular. (Thuringer Allgemeine Zeitung 4-29-02) "When I imagine him standing in front of me, I just can't believe he would have been capable of such a thing."--Andreas Forster, teacher(Thuringer Allgemeine Zeitung 4-27-02)
--Mind Control? The more one finds about Robert Steinhauser, the more one has the impression one is dealing with two or three different people. With someone under multiple personality disorder. Or a schizophrenic? (Spiegal 19/2002)
--His friend Peter was quoted "Sick souls are always interesting. ..Steini knew a lot about Charles Manson, that mass murderer." (Stern 20/2002)
THE GUN
--He bought his 9mm Glock 17L for 1200DM(about $800 in 2001dollars) from a fellow gun club member. The seller registered the sale within the 14-day time period proscribed by law. But Steini does not put the weapon's serial number on his weapons license as the law says he should have. This permit presumably was kept at a central location, as critics said they should have picked up on this failure, and pulled the weapons permit. (Stern 20/2002) It's is also unclear if he was legally allowed to take the weapons home with him.
--Twelve days later(Beginning of November '01) he buys a Mossburg pump-action shotgun from a sporting goods store for 1300DM. According to the rules of his gun club, he wasn't even allowed to own one. (Stern 20/2002)
--Steinhauser was given gun-handling tips by a high official in the local police department when he joined a gun club, one that was a subsidiary of police-union sport club that had many members in the local law enforcement and legal fields. He was a capable shot, but not a gun nut. (Stern 20/2002) Though others said he wasn't a member. (Thuringer Allgemeine Zeitung 4-29-02)
THE SCHOOL
--Over the left entrance were the words "Learn, so that you may live". Over the right entrance were the words "Live, so that you may learn"
--Gutenburg school was on the forefront in instituting 'violence-prevention' programs. There were mediation programs, with students acting as mediators in student/student and student/teacher conflicts. (Spiegal 18/2002)
-----------------------
packerbear
(11/16/04)
Reply Re: Return to Erfurt
so your saying the attacks in Missisippi, Arkansas, and Kentucky were planned over the course of a year?
---------------------
starviego
(11/16/04)
Bear,
I was just quoting the magazine article. Though in the many cases of random school shootings I have studied, "planned it for a year" is mentioned in about 20-25% of the cases. I have come across no "planned it for 18 months" or "planned it for six months" nor any "planned it for a month". It's always a year.
------------------
Brahharb
(12/2/04)
Reply Empathy for Erfurt
Coloradans on mission of empathy
German school tragedy lures Columbine families
By Kevin Vaughan, News Staff Writer
June 5, 2002
A Littleton pastor and several Columbine families -- including a former student shot in the school library on April 20, 1999 -- set out for Erfurt, Germany, on Tuesday with a message of consolation and hope.
The group, including Pastor Bruce Porter of Celebration Church in Littleton, took Columbine seeds and other mementos as symbols of friendship with the people of Erfurt, who endured the murder of 13 teachers, two students and a police officer at the Johann Gutenberg Gymnasium high school on April 26.
"They are going there, some of them having experiences of losing loved ones and tragedy, reaching out," said Craig Scott, whose sister, Rachel, was murdered outside Columbine High in the 1999 attack by seniors Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold.
Scott's older sister, Dana, and his mother, Beth Nimmo, are on the trip.
"We know firsthand there's not anything that words can say; there isn't anything to explain it," said Dana Scott, 25, while waiting to check luggage.
"We hope to offer encouragement and comfort and share how we were able to get through it with our faith in God," Scott said.
Nimmo said she has been bracing herself for any wounds that may be reopened. But she said she wishes someone could have told her a few weeks after the Columbine massacre that three years later, she would have hope again.
"Just a few weeks out, you don't think anything's ever going to be any different," she said. "The pain, shock, disbelief are so great, you don't think you can have a normal day."
Parallels have been drawn between Columbine and the tragedy in Erfurt, which began when 19-year-old Robert Steinhaeuser, an expelled student, opened fire at his former school.
He took his own life as police closed in.
Among those on the trip to Germany is Evan Todd, a Columbine graduate who suffered relatively minor shotgun wounds in the school library.
Todd will carry with him a framed copy of the "Respect Life" license plate that pays homage to the Columbine victims. He plans to present it to the headmaster at the German school.
Todd hopes to console the families of the German victims "and let them know there is life after such a demonic slaughter," said his father, Dale Todd.
(11/15/04 10:26 pm)
Ex-student Robert Steinhauser, 19, shot and killed a policeman, two students, 1 secretary, 12 teachers, and finally himself at Gutenburg Gymnasium(combination junior and senior high school) in Erfurt Germany on Friday, April 26, 2002. The motive was that this day final exams were scheduled, and his parents would soon find out that he had dropped out and/or been kicked out 6 months earlier.
So he plunged himself and his family into infamy to avoid the embarassment. Or so said official sources.
I was in Germany recently and visited the city. Here are some tidbits I got from local and national news sources:
THE ACT
--9:45am Robert leaves his home, without a backback or carrying bag, according to his parents. (Spiegal, 19/2002)
--10:30am He packed his black duffel bag with about 550 rounds of ammo and a black mask with black gloves. He packed his pump-action shotgun in a black circular tube. Though his shotgun was never fired. (Stern 19/2002)
--10:30am He leaves his home with a backpack, holding a cigarette(though he didn't smoke), according to his grandmother who lived on a lower floor. (Spiegal, 19/2002)
--10:45am Steini entered the school in normal clothes with a large bag.
--The shooter entered the front, main entrance of the school shortly before 11am. (Stern 19/2002)
--Steinhauser entered the school from the rear.(Spiegal, 19/2002)
--He left the first floor men's restroom wearing a black hooded mask, black pants, black sweat jacket, black gloves, black shoes.
--Student Ronny Mockel, 15, took a round in the stomach and student Susann Hartung, 15, was shot in the back as the shooter shot six times through a closed door that the students were in the process of barricading. Both died.
--Teacher Birgit Dettke was shot five times in the parking lot as the shooter followed her out of the rear area of the school. (Stern 19/2002)
--As a flood of frightened students exit the rear entrance to the school. Many jumped over fences, and then someones shouts: "He's coming out, he's coming! Help!" The black-clothed man with the mask stands over Birgit Dettke and fires. Seven entrance wounds were found on her body. (Focus 19/2002)
--Policeman Andreas Gorski, 39, was shot once in the back and killed as he stepped into the school, at 11:15am. Though the first 911 calls spoke of a gunshots, Gorski was warned only of a disturbance at the school. Acoording to IOs, he was the last victim. (Stern 19/2002)
--11:16am Steinhauser is pushed into a classroom by a teacher, who gives him back his pistol first. He puts his mask back on and shoots himself.
--By 11:20am Steinhauser killed 16 people with 40 shots.(Stern 19/2002) His spree lasted 20 minutes. (Thuringer Allgemeine Zeitung 4-29-02)
--Shortly thereafter, a doctor and her assistant are led into the building, confirm that Gorski is dead. A shot rang out while they were approaching other wounded. (Spiegal, 19/2002)
--"If Robert really hated a teacher, it would have been Heiser" said a Steve, friend of Steinhauser. (Stern 20/2002) Heiser was the teacher who ended the spree by confronting Steinhauser by name and telling him "If you're going to shoot me, then at least look me in the eye." Whereupon Steini allegedly took off his mask, and said "I've had enough for today". The teacher than pushed him into a room, told him to take his gun with him(he handed the Glock back) and then locked the door.
--He fired his suicide shot through his mouth. (Spiegal, 19/2002)
--11:43am A police SWAT team stormed the school. They were wary because of reports from eye- and ear-witnesses reports of a second shooter in the school. They didn't know if they confronted a hostage situation. "It was like a war zone" said one cop. Several victims were still conscious at this time, before they died. Several unwounded surviving teachers wanted to know why it took so long for help to arrive. (Thuringer Allgemeine Zeitung 4-29-02)
--Around 1pm Steinhauser is found in room 111 with a shot through his right temple. A 9mm Glock pistol and his pump-action shotgun are found by his body.
--Around 1pm, Steinhauser's brother Peter enters Robert's room and discovers a bag on the floor with a 100 rounds of ammo. On his desk are the receipts for the two guns. He also noticed the normally messy room was tidied up. (Spiegal, 19/2002)
--2pm In groups of 10, students who were still in the building were led to the courtyard. Police searched them for weapons.
--Psychologists and grief counselors were quickly available to counsel survivors.(Thueringer Allgemeine Zeitung 4-27-02)
--A day after the killings police reduced the number of victims from 17 to 16(not counting Steinhauser). (Thuringer Allgemeine Zeitung 4-29-02)
SECOND GUNMAN
--Denise Hoffman, 15, and five of her fellow students saw what occured. There were two masked men, both about 5'9". One of them had a weapon strapped to his back and was shooting with his pistol. The other one only had a pistol. "One of the two", remembers Steffen Holzhauser, 15, "followed us out to the school yard and ran away. I didn't see where. But not back into the school." (Thuringer Allgemeine Zeitung 4-27-02)
--Up to the evening of the attack, police were looking for a second gunman, who the students spoke of. Did he exist? Or did everyone just see Robert Steinhauser, though seemingly everywhere at the same time? (Stern 20/2002)
--The police first concentrated on securing every corner of the school. Witnesses told of a second shooter, though the police have since ruled this out. (Thuringer Allgemeine Zeitung 4-29-02)
--The atmosphere amongst the teachers at the school is somber. A few teachers and students are certain that there was a second shooter, who escaped with the fleeing students, who now apparently freely roams the streets of the city. One source was a group of 7th graders who fled to the basement library and who told of two masked gunman holding pistols, one of whom had something strapped to his back(the shotgun, presumably). One was wearing light-colored clothing, the other one wearing dark clothes. Three of the youngsters immediately began to record their observations on computers(in the library? unclear--though that's evidence I'd like to see!). And though the official theory is of only one gunman, police are discreetly asking Steinhauser's friends of that other possibility--they are still not sure.(Spiegal, 19/2002)
AFTERMATH
--SWAT discovered two empty magazines(capacity 17 round each), plus one in the pistol. 40 rounds were fired in all. The shotgun was never fired. (Thuringer Allgemeine Zeitung 4-29-02)
--Steinhauser fired over 70 shots. (Stern 20/2002)
--Like almost all US cases, the act was planned. Steinhauser in fact planned it for a year. (Focus 19/2002)
--Steinhauser's crime was a copycat, according to one official. On his computer's hard drive police found extensive documentation on the Columbine massacre. (Focus 19/2002)
--According to sources, the relatives of the victims are attempting to get together and with the help of a lawyer want an inquiry to determine the exact circumstances of the murders and possible missed chances of a rescue of injured victims. (Thuringer Allgemeine Zeitung 4-29-02)
[Apparently, the police report has not and will not be publicly released. And you thought JeffCo was stingy with info!]
THE SUSPECT
--He and and his family had traveled to the US about two years prior.(Spiegal 19/2002)
--His favorite video game was the violent "Counterstrike" and his favorite band was "Slipknot" from Iowa. He and his friends were pretty adept at computers, to the extent of setting up their own LAN network. He would always dress in black jeans, black sweatshirt, with a black leather jacket.(Spiegal 19/2002)
--He was known to sleep in class.(Spiegal 19/2002)
--Drama Club? Though Steini was an indifferent student at best, he showed particular interest in a play he and four other students were assigned to direct. They had the idea of putting Sophocles' tragedy "Antigone" into a modern 'mafia' setting. Robert, who designed sets and costumes, took a leading role in the endeavor. "It was astounding", remembers one of the actors, "how imaginative Robert was about what we should wear while we were doing our lines."
--Steinhauser was not a loner, he ran with a clique of otherwise fairly normal kids. He loved his mother, and many described him as helpful and friendly. Though one friend claimed that six months before, Robert started talking about how all the teachers should be shot. Someone finally said "So go ahead and do it." Steini said "I can't, because of my parents." (Stern 20/2002)
--Even afterwards, several of the people who knew him are still totally astounded at the act that he must have planned for such a long time. Many described him as fairly normal, and he was not unpopular. (Thuringer Allgemeine Zeitung 4-29-02) "When I imagine him standing in front of me, I just can't believe he would have been capable of such a thing."--Andreas Forster, teacher(Thuringer Allgemeine Zeitung 4-27-02)
--Mind Control? The more one finds about Robert Steinhauser, the more one has the impression one is dealing with two or three different people. With someone under multiple personality disorder. Or a schizophrenic? (Spiegal 19/2002)
--His friend Peter was quoted "Sick souls are always interesting. ..Steini knew a lot about Charles Manson, that mass murderer." (Stern 20/2002)
THE GUN
--He bought his 9mm Glock 17L for 1200DM(about $800 in 2001dollars) from a fellow gun club member. The seller registered the sale within the 14-day time period proscribed by law. But Steini does not put the weapon's serial number on his weapons license as the law says he should have. This permit presumably was kept at a central location, as critics said they should have picked up on this failure, and pulled the weapons permit. (Stern 20/2002) It's is also unclear if he was legally allowed to take the weapons home with him.
--Twelve days later(Beginning of November '01) he buys a Mossburg pump-action shotgun from a sporting goods store for 1300DM. According to the rules of his gun club, he wasn't even allowed to own one. (Stern 20/2002)
--Steinhauser was given gun-handling tips by a high official in the local police department when he joined a gun club, one that was a subsidiary of police-union sport club that had many members in the local law enforcement and legal fields. He was a capable shot, but not a gun nut. (Stern 20/2002) Though others said he wasn't a member. (Thuringer Allgemeine Zeitung 4-29-02)
THE SCHOOL
--Over the left entrance were the words "Learn, so that you may live". Over the right entrance were the words "Live, so that you may learn"
--Gutenburg school was on the forefront in instituting 'violence-prevention' programs. There were mediation programs, with students acting as mediators in student/student and student/teacher conflicts. (Spiegal 18/2002)
-----------------------
packerbear
(11/16/04)
Reply Re: Return to Erfurt
so your saying the attacks in Missisippi, Arkansas, and Kentucky were planned over the course of a year?
---------------------
starviego
(11/16/04)
Bear,
I was just quoting the magazine article. Though in the many cases of random school shootings I have studied, "planned it for a year" is mentioned in about 20-25% of the cases. I have come across no "planned it for 18 months" or "planned it for six months" nor any "planned it for a month". It's always a year.
------------------
Brahharb
(12/2/04)
Reply Empathy for Erfurt
Coloradans on mission of empathy
German school tragedy lures Columbine families
By Kevin Vaughan, News Staff Writer
June 5, 2002
A Littleton pastor and several Columbine families -- including a former student shot in the school library on April 20, 1999 -- set out for Erfurt, Germany, on Tuesday with a message of consolation and hope.
The group, including Pastor Bruce Porter of Celebration Church in Littleton, took Columbine seeds and other mementos as symbols of friendship with the people of Erfurt, who endured the murder of 13 teachers, two students and a police officer at the Johann Gutenberg Gymnasium high school on April 26.
"They are going there, some of them having experiences of losing loved ones and tragedy, reaching out," said Craig Scott, whose sister, Rachel, was murdered outside Columbine High in the 1999 attack by seniors Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold.
Scott's older sister, Dana, and his mother, Beth Nimmo, are on the trip.
"We know firsthand there's not anything that words can say; there isn't anything to explain it," said Dana Scott, 25, while waiting to check luggage.
"We hope to offer encouragement and comfort and share how we were able to get through it with our faith in God," Scott said.
Nimmo said she has been bracing herself for any wounds that may be reopened. But she said she wishes someone could have told her a few weeks after the Columbine massacre that three years later, she would have hope again.
"Just a few weeks out, you don't think anything's ever going to be any different," she said. "The pain, shock, disbelief are so great, you don't think you can have a normal day."
Parallels have been drawn between Columbine and the tragedy in Erfurt, which began when 19-year-old Robert Steinhaeuser, an expelled student, opened fire at his former school.
He took his own life as police closed in.
Among those on the trip to Germany is Evan Todd, a Columbine graduate who suffered relatively minor shotgun wounds in the school library.
Todd will carry with him a framed copy of the "Respect Life" license plate that pays homage to the Columbine victims. He plans to present it to the headmaster at the German school.
Todd hopes to console the families of the German victims "and let them know there is life after such a demonic slaughter," said his father, Dale Todd.
