More of this ahead...

Last Sunday, a mentally disturbed individual entered a church in Maryville Illinois and shot the pastor, before hurting 2 other people. Yesterday 28-year-old Michael McLendon went into a shooting spree that killed 10 people in Alabama before ending his own life. And now, this happened this morning;

WINNENDEN, Germany – A 17-year-old gunman dressed in black opened fire inside his former high school in southwestern Germany on Wednesday killing 15 people before he turned the gun on himself, authorities said.

The gunman entered the school in Winnenden at 9:33 a.m. after classes had begun and opened fire, shooting at random, police said. He killed nine students, three teachers and a passer-by outside the building, officials said. Two other people were killed later.

"He went into the school with a weapon and carried out a bloodbath," said regional police chief Erwin Hetger. "I've never seen anything like this in my life."

Triggering a land and air manhunt, the gunman hijacked a car and forced the driver to head south, sitting in the back seat, according to Stuttgart prosecutors, who are leading the investigation.

When the driver swerved off the road to avoid a police checkpoint, he managed to escape and the suspect, identified only as Tim K., ran into an industrial area in the town of Wendlingen with police in pursuit.

There he entered an auto dealership, shooting and killing a salesman and a customer, and then went back outside, prosecutors said.

"In front of the auto dealership the young man then opened fire toward the many police vehicles," prosecutors said. "A gunbattle ensued between the 17-year-old and the many police involved in the pursuit of him. According to our current information, the 17-year-old then shot himself."

Two police officers suffered serious but not life-threatening injuries.

Police said the suspect was a German teen who graduated last year from the school of about 1,000 students.

No motive has been identified. The victims were primarily female. In the school, eight girls and a boy were shot dead, along with three teachers.

In their hunt for the gunman, police searched his parents' home in a nearby town. The suspect's father, who is a member of a local gun club, had 16 firearms, one of which was missing, police said.

Police identified the weapon used in the attack as a high-caliber pistol.

The death toll was close to that of Germany's worst school shooting.

This is shape of things to come. As the financial crisis deepens, the people who were on the brink of mental illness will go over the edge, causing untold carnage and damage.

Things are going to get worse, before they get better.

But you can make it better.

If you see some signs of mental illness in your loved ones, co-workers or yourself, please seek medical help right away.

The lives you will save will be worth it!