In March 2009, a similar gun rampage had occurred in nearby Winnenden, when teenage gunman Tim Kretschmer killed twelve people at his former school before killing three civilians and then committing suicide in Wendlingen. The incident triggered off a debate in Germany on tougher gun ownership laws. On 16 September 2010 – only three days before the Lörrach rampage – the boy's father had to appear in court on a charge of failure to securely store his gun.