Gunman hid expulsion from parents

Steinhauser's mother saw nothing change in her son's behavior

ERFURT, Germany -- The teenage gunman who killed 16 people and himself at his former school pretended to his parents he was still going to school each day -- even though he had been expelled.

Robert Steinhauser even told his unsuspecting parents hours before the massacre that he was going to class to take a maths exam.

Officials told The Associated Press his mother wished her son good luck on the exam as he left the house to begin his deadly shooting spree.

As investigators developed a fuller picture of the 19-year-old behind one of the deadliest school shootings ever, they said Steinhauser managed to keep his parents in the dark about his expulsion from school for forging a doctor's note.

It was the humiliation of the explusion that authorities believe triggered Friday's rampage.

"The parents thought he was going to school every day and was successfully moving toward his high school diploma," Erfurt Police Chief Rainer Grube tolf AP, citing statements by the parents to police.

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Officials said he walked into the building just before 11 a.m., used a bathroom to change into all-black clothing and a ski mask, then fatally shot 13 teachers -- more than a third of the faculty -- two teenage students and a policeman.

Police said he fired about 40 rounds before turning his 9 mm Glock pistol on himself inside the Johann Gutenberg Gymnasium.

Grube said authorities believe the killer had a Web site and were investigating a home page bearing his name and picture. But someone changed the page 12 hours after his death, Grube said, raising the possibility that the current version is bogus.

Police confiscated from Steinhauser's home violence-laden comics and a number of computer games that featured "intensive weapons usage," Grube said.

He said Steinhaeser's mother told police she had not noticed any unusual behaviour in her son, described by officials and acquaintances as a gun club member who had few if any close friends.

A quirk of Germany's education system also may have contributed to the tragedy. Thuringia, where Erfurt is the state capital, is alone in denying even an intermediate diploma to students who go beyond 10th grade, but then fail twice to pass final exams.

Germany took some comfort from the heroism of teacher Rainer Heise

Officials said Steinhauser had failed last year, and his expulsion a few weeks ago deprived him of the second -- and last -- chance for a full diploma, necessary to attend a university or get a decent job.

Crowds continued to gather at the school entrance on Sunday. Flowers overflowed from the steps onto the sidewalk, and candles sputtered in the rain.

Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer became the latest national figure to pay his respects, placing a bouquet and consoling the tearful school principal as she told him about the horrific events.

Officials cancelled classes for at least a week and said students would receive counseling at Erfurt's city hall. The school remained sealed on Sunday as police continued to secure clues.

Erfurt Mayor Manfred Ruge said after meeting the school's parents, teachers and students Sunday that they had resolved to clean up and reopen the building as soon as possible to "also seize the chance to make a new beginning."

Providing fresh evidence that Steinhauser was bent on killing teachers, police chief Grube said the witnesses recalled the gunman bursting into some classrooms but leaving if he saw no teachers. The two teenage victims, a 14-year-old girl and a 15-year-old boy, were killed when Steinhaeuser fired through a closed door, Grube said.

The one bright spot in a story of horor and bloodshed was the heroism of the 60-year-old teacher who stopped Steinhauser's gun rampage.

Police praised the bravery of Rainer Heise, who confronted the guman and said: "Go ahead and shoot me, but look me in the face."

Steinhauser let down his guard and Heise bundled him into a room and locked the door. Steinhauser shot himself shortly afterwards.