German police boss calls for ban on "killergames"

Heini Schmitt, head of the Hessen German Police Union, has called for the ban of violent videogames, following the school shooting earlier this month.

According to a report by Echo Online, and translated by GamePolitics, Schmitt cites the correlation between violent youth crimes and videogames as a cause for concern, saying he was alarmed that the region's youth "regularly and addictively escape into a virtual world".

While he admits there is no proof "that these frequent escapes into virtual killerworlds can contribute to such insane deeds", Schmitt adds: "But neither can the role killergames be completely dismissed."

The police official went on to comment that any chance to remove a probable cause of violent crimes should be taken, concluding: "The world would be no poorer if there were no more killergames."

Videogames drew in criticism following the school shooting, which left 16 people dead, when the shooter was later revealed to have been a CounterStrike player.

Last week, the German retailer, Galeria Kaufhof, announced its intention to pull all violent films and videogames from it shelves.