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children, but take him instead. He fired seven shots at the teacher, hitting him in the stomach, face and left arm. As soon as
Gehlhaar lay on the floor gravely wounded, Charva began shooting the children, killing three of them and wounding another thirteen, four of them critically. Alarmed by the gunshots, teacher Hans-Peter Schmitt rushed into the classroom, trying to help, but was also shot and killed, as was Gisbert Beck, an unarmed police officer who was at the school instructing students on traffic safety.
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When police arrived at the scene they tried to calm Charva down, but the gunman simply yelled at them and continued shooting. At about 11:15 a.m. Charva retreated into a classroom opposite the
English class where the attack began and committed suicide by shooting himself in the mouth. The
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At about 10:45 a.m. he arrived at room 213, where Franz-Adolf
Gehlhaar taught English to a sixth grade class. Charva fired a shot at Gehlhaar, missing him, and immediately retreated out of the classroom, only to re-enter. When Gehlhaar confronted the gunman, he told him not to shoot the
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and is supposed to have driven through the area in search for a school that gave lessons that day, as many were closed due to a holiday. Thus, it is assumed, it was pure chance that he ended up at the
Freiherr-vom-Stein Gesamtschule in Eppstein, about 30 kilometers from Frankfurt.
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The motive behind Charva's shooting remains unknown, though it was speculated that pent-up anger and frustration about failing to bring his aspiring attempts to qualify as a teacher to fruition could have been a cause.
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Initially, there was some confusion that Charva might have known the wounded teacher, as shortly before the shooting started someone had asked for
Gehlhaar, though it was later found that the person was not the gunman.
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on the front wheels of two cars. Though the motives behind this deed are unknown, it was suggested that it might have been politically motivated.
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and legally purchased the two weapons used in the shooting in 1981. In the last weeks of his life he was described as increasingly aggressive.
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167:. The gunman, 34-year-old Karel Charva, fatally shot three students, a teacher and a police officer and injured another 14 people using two
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In all Charva had fired about forty shots, killed 5 people and injured another 14. Additionally, 30 children suffered from shock.
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and studying chemistry and mathematics, apparently to become a teacher. He was also a member of a local
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for a while he was finally granted the status of a political refugee in 1971. Stating he was a
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autopsy of his body later showed that he had acted under the influence of alcohol.
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Charva parked his car near the school, leaving 160 rounds of ammunition, a bag and
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behind. He then entered the building with two semi-automatic pistols, a 9×19mm
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cab company. In 1976 he was arrested and convicted for loosening the
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Unknown, possibly frustration for failing to qualify as a teacher
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Living in
Frankfurt since 1981, where he found a job as
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West
Germans hold memorial for school shooting victims
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Von Schüssen verletzt, riefen Kinder nach ihrer Mutter
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The shooting is the eighth-deadliest of its kind in
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336:and wanting to become a teacher, Charva moved to
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890:Winnenden and Wendlingen, Baden-Württemberg
437:Amokschütze Karel Charva steckte voller Haß
414:Classroom Gun Rampage Leaves 6 Germans Dead
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673:Gunman kills 5, self, at school in Germany
385:List of rampage killers (school massacres)
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799:Mühlhausen an der Enz, Baden-Württemberg
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218:At about 7:20 a.m. Charva rented a
33:Memorial for the victims of the shooting
721:Classroom shooting spree: man a recluse
649:Madman opens fire in school, kills five
527:Schoolhouse killer knew teacher he shot
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279:The five people killed by Charva are:
627:Eppstein - ein Jahr nach dem Anschlag
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566:Gedenken an Amoklauf mit sechs Toten
152:that occurred on 3 June 1983 at the
16:1983 school shooting in West Germany
1046:20th-century mass murder in Germany
847:Euskirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia
14:
884:Emsdetten, North Rhine-Westphalia
685:5 die as gunman blasts schoolroom
548:Karel Charva war ein Einzelgänger
733:Gunman called a friendless loner
697:Police say attacker knew teacher
295:Gisbert Beck, 45, police officer
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829:Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia
292:Hans-Peter Schmitt, 36, teacher
473:Das Blutbad in der Schulklasse
344:, where he began working as a
252:, as well as seven additional
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976:1983 mass shootings in Europe
938:Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg
926:Rot am See, Baden-Württemberg
114:6 (including the perpetrator)
991:Deaths by firearm in Germany
817:Fahrdorf, Schleswig-Holstein
328:. After living in a camp at
312:Karel Charva, a native from
1036:School shootings in Germany
914:Konstanz, Baden-Württemberg
243:Smith & Wesson Model 59
93:Smith & Wesson Model 59
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1041:Spree shootings in Germany
1031:School massacres in Europe
1026:School killings in Germany
1021:Murder–suicides in Germany
996:June 1983 events in Europe
896:Lörrach, Baden-Württemberg
709:Six die in school shooting
1011:Mass shootings in Germany
390:Emsdetten school shooting
188:Winnenden school shooting
58:10:45 a.m. - 11:15 a.m. (
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902:Frankfurt am Main, Hesse
859:Bad Reichenhall, Bavaria
609:Gunman kills 5 in school
455:"Er blickte verschlagen"
208:2020 Rot am See shooting
146:Eppstein school shooting
22:Eppstein school shooting
738:Sarasota Herald-Tribune
678:Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
654:Wilmington Morning Star
635:(May 30, 1984, page 48)
599:(June 9, 1983, page 28)
556:(June 6, 1983, page 22)
499:(June 4, 1983, page 24)
445:(June 7, 1983, page 16)
192:Cologne school massacre
1006:Deaths in West Germany
591:Eppstein nahm Abschied
481:(June 4, 1983, page 1)
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169:semi-automatic pistols
395:Ansbach school attack
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283:Stephanie Hermann, 12
161:Eppstein-Vockenhausen
43:Eppstein-Vockenhausen
1016:Massacres in Germany
971:1983 in West Germany
920:Halle, Saxony-Anhalt
632:Hamburger Abendblatt
614:The Spokesman-Review
596:Hamburger Abendblatt
553:Hamburger Abendblatt
532:Ludington Daily News
496:Hamburger Abendblatt
478:Hamburger Abendblatt
442:Hamburger Abendblatt
289:Gabriele Siebert, 12
200:2016 Munich shooting
196:2020 Hanau shootings
171:, before committing
1001:Mass murder in 1983
853:Dillingen, Saarland
714:The Gainesville Sun
578:Hessischer Rundfunk
286:Javier Martinez, 11
182:Germany, after the
835:Nuremberg, Bavaria
571:2004-06-23 at the
509:Tödlicher Aufschub
419:The New York Times
338:Mörfelden-Walldorf
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154:Freiherr-vom-Stein
102:7.65 mm Parabellum
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878:Erfurt, Thuringia
726:New Straits Times
702:Ocala Star-Banner
690:Ocala Star-Banner
231:Frankfurt am Main
227:car rental agency
204:Fahrdorf massacre
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693:(June 4, 1983)
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681:(June 4, 1983)
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669:(June 9, 1983)
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643:External links
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308:Karel Charva
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250:Astra pistol
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165:West Germany
157:Gesamtschule
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130:Karel Charva
98:Astra pistol
56:3 June 1983
47:West Germany
966:1983 crimes
460:Der Spiegel
346:taxi driver
300:Perpetrator
127:Perpetrator
77:mass murder
68:Attack type
960:Categories
778:in Germany
666:The Ledger
401:References
365:typewriter
517:(11/1994)
350:Frankfurt
342:Darmstadt
254:magazines
239:handcuffs
223:panel van
569:Archived
379:See also
369:gun club
330:Zirndorf
214:Shooting
180:post-war
39:Location
944:Hamburg
871:century
786:century
275:Victims
173:suicide
119:Injured
87:Weapons
805:Berlin
793:Bremen
348:for a
314:Prague
245:and a
202:, the
198:, the
148:was a
135:Motive
111:Deaths
514:Focus
225:at a
869:21st
784:20th
354:nuts
144:The
53:Date
229:in
159:in
60:CET
962::
735:,
723:,
711:,
699:,
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427:^
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256:.
220:VW
210:.
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768:e
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