Germany will face pressure to re-evaluate its already tough gun laws in the wake of today's school shooting near Stuttgart, in which at least 16 people have died, including the teenage gunman.
The country already has some of the strictest gun laws in the world. Handguns are only on sale to those aged 18 or over, with heavier weapons restricted to those over 21. No weapon can be purchased legally without a firearms ownership licence, which is only available after personal checks.
None of this appears to have prevented a 17-year-old former pupil of Albertville school in Winnenden from going on the rampage. According to Spiegel online, the student's family kept some 18 different weapons at home. Germany's ZDF TV, quoting police sources, confirmed one of the father's weapons was missing.
This is not the first tragedy of its kind in Germany, which in recent years has seen several deadly encounters in its classrooms. In 2002 Germany's worst school massacre took place in the eastern city of Erfurt, when a disgruntled ex-pupil shot dead 17 people, including himself. In 2006 an 18-year-old pupil in the north-western town of Emsdetten injured 37 people, then killed himself.
The shootings prompted German MPs to tighten the country's already strong gun laws. In April 2008 a new amendment to Germany's Waffengesetz ,or gun regulation law, banned tasers and dummy guns, as well as several other weapons. Anyone deemed aggressive, unreliable or with criminal convictions cannot legally buy a gun in Germany.
Pro-gun groups argue that stricter legislation would not deter hardcore criminals from using weapons acquired illegally. But across Europe the gun lobby appears to be losing the argument. Finland – with more lax gun laws than Germany – has this week tightened its legislation, after two bloody school massacres in 2007 and 2008 left 20 people dead. Guns in Finland are now only sold to those aged over 20.
Attempts to introduce stricter legislation in Germany will be difficult. The country has a long-running love affair with hunting, which remains a popular sport, especially in Germany's conservative and rural Catholic south. In 2006 a brown bear wandered into Germany from Italy, the first time a bear had visited the country for 170 years. A group of hunters promptly shot it dead.