RACIST RAMPAGE TO SPUR TIGHTER GUN LAWS

BERLIN/HANAU Germany is to tighten its gun laws and increase the police presence on its streets in the wake of the shootings in which a far-right gunman killed nine people of migrant backgrounds.

Laws will be introduced to require psychological checks for anyone issued with a gun licence, said Horst Seehofer, the German interior minister. Angela Merkel’s government was urged to bring in tougher gun laws after it emerged that Tobias Rathjen, the Hanau gunman, had a firearms licence and legally owned several handguns.

Rathjen, pictured, killed nine people at shisha bars Wednesday night before turning his gun on his mother and himself.

It appears Rathjen was able to exploit a weak link in Germany’s otherwise tough gun laws by applying for a licence as a gun club member.