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Father of school shooter sues son’s clinic

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Father of school shooter sues son’s clinic
Photo: DPA

The father of the teen responsible for the Winnenden school massacre is suing the clinic that treated his son before he murdered 15 people in the southwestern German town in 2009.

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Jörg Kretschmer is seeking €8.8 million in damages from the Weissenhof psychiatric clinic in Weinsberg with a civil suit, his lawyer Erik Silcher said on Tuesday. He said Kretschmer was merely attempting to cover costs he was likely to face as a result of the tragedy rather than make any money for himself.

In March 2009, 17-year-old Tim Kretschmer went on a rampage at his former high school and nearby with his father’s gun before killing himself. The clinic had examined the teenager just a few months earlier but doctors reportedly found no signs he could be a danger to anyone.

“If the medical regulations has been followed, this terrible deed never would have happened,” Silcher told regional daily the Heilbronner Stimme.

The lawyer said the law suit had been filed just before to the statute of limitations expired which would have prevented any legal recourse.

Jörg Kretschmer was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter in February 2011 for failing to keep the weapon used in the massacre out of his son’s reach. He was given a suspended sentence, but he faces millions of euros in damages from the town of Winnenden and the vicitims’ families.

DAPD/The Local/mry

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