In pictures: Germany mourning

People in the German town of Winnenden have been paying tribute to the 15 people who died when a 17-year-old student went on a gun rampage starting at his former school.

Tim Kretschmer killed nine students and three teachers at the Albertville secondary school and three other people as he fled, before taking his own life in a nearby town.

Students, parents and local people gathered at the school to lay tributes and receive counselling to deal with what police officers said had been "a bloodbath".

Some of the students spoke of hiding behind tables while Kretschmer fired about 60 bullets into classrooms, shooting some of his victims at close range.

Earlier in the day, it emerged that Kretschmer had warned about his plans to attack the school on an internet chatroom the night before, but people who read it had thought it was a joke.

The school itself remained sealed off while police investigate, and flags outside were lowered to half mast as a mark of respect.

Flags were also lowered on Germany's parliament building, the Reichstag in Berlin, and on the office of Chancellor Angela Merkel, who said the killings were "a horrific crime".

Black fabric has been draped outside the psychiatric clinic where Kretschmer shot one person dead and injured another as he fled.

And investigations continued at the car showroom in Wendlingen, where Kretschmer killed one more person before being cornered by police and shooting himself dead.

Counsellors have said many of those who witnessed the killings will fear it could happen again and may be struggling with feelings of guilt that they could not save their friends.