German school gunman buried

FRANKFURT, Germany -- A failed student who killed 16 people, mainly teachers and pupils, in a school shooting spree last month was buried in a private ceremony, police have said.

Robert Steinhaeuser, 19, committed one of the world's worst school shootings when he opened fire at Johann Gutenberg Gymnasium, in Erfurt, on April 26 before turning the gun on himself.

He was buried at an undisclosed location with only family members attending the service on Saturday, an Erfurt police spokesman told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity. No further details were available.

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Steinhaeuser's family had apologised in a signed letter to local newspapers shortly after the shooting, expressing their sorrow.

"The sorrow, despair and helplessness in our family are boundless," they had written.

"We will forever be sorry that our son and brother has brought such horrifying suffering to the victims and their relatives, the people of Erfurt and Thuringia, and all over Germany."

The family said they had not known of their son's intentions and had been unaware that he had been expelled six months earlier for forging a doctor's note.

The killings shocked Germany and drew calls for tighter gun controls despite the national parliament having discussed such measures within hours of the shooting.

Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, who is under pressure in the run-up to elections in the summer, has urged for new measures including raising the minimum legal age for acquiring firearms for recreational use from 18 to 25.

Steinhaeuser is reported to have had permits for both the pump-action rifle that he carried into the school and the pistol he used to carry out the shooting.

A report by security officials in the state where the shooting took place described Steinhaeuser as closed and moody and said he was under pressure from his family to perform well in school, the weekly Focus reported in an advance copy of its Monday edition, AP reported.