Heidelberg shooting: Gunman kills one and wounds three at German university

Young student, with no police record, fired at victims in packed Heidelberg University hall

A police officer examines a weapon near the crime scene in Heidelberg. EPA

A gunman opened fire during a packed lecture at Heidelberg University in south-western Germany and wounded four people, one of them fatally, before killing himself, police said.

The gunman, 18, was a biology student at the university, said Siegfried Kollmar, the regional chief of police.

The German citizen with no known police record sent a phone message to his father shortly before the shooting saying that “people will be punished”, Mr Kollmar said.

The motive for the attack was still being investigated, but the student was known to have suffered from a psychological illness in the past, he said.

His body was found outside by officers, along with two firearms he had recently acquired abroad and about 100 rounds of ammunition, Mr Kollmar said.

Police identified the dead woman, 23, as a German. Those with minor wounds were two German women and a German-Italian man.

The shooting sparked a massive police response, with more than 400 officers sent to the scene.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz expressed dismay over the tragedy and offered his condolences to relatives, victims and students.

“It’s been reported that one student has died of her injuries,” Mr Scholz said. “It tears my heart apart to learn of such news.”

Heidelberg is south of Frankfurt and has about 160,000 residents. Its university is one of Germany’s best-known.

"Our police are investigating under huge pressure and are doing everything to quickly establish the background to this attack," said Winfried Kretschmann, the Premier of the state of Baden-Wuerttemberg.

"My thoughts are with the families and loved ones of the victims. We are by their side."

Drivers were earlier told to avoid the Neuenheimer Feld area, which is part of the university, to make way for emergency vehicles.

The institute, which was founded in 1386, resumed in-person classes in October after months of distance learning because of the coronavirus pandemic.