Editing Erfurt school massacre (section)

== Legacy ==

After the rampage, around 700 students were diagnosed with [[post-traumatic stress disorder]], about one hundred of whom were still under treatment for one year after the shooting. 10 years after the killing spree, there were still six witnesses in psychological therapy, including four who had initially rejected a follow-up program. These adolescents had "time-delayed disturbances such as memory gaps and extreme avoidance behavior". The Thuringian Accident Insurance Fund as payers has so far taken over childcare costs for the victims in the amount of about 5.6 million Euros, including about 2.2 million Euros as pension payments, for example, for survivors' pensions.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2012-04-07 |title=Millionen für Amok-Opfer |language=de |trans-title=Millions for spree killing victims |work=[[Focus (German magazine)|FOCUS]] |url=https://www.focus.de/politik/deutschland/focussiert-millionen-fuer-amok-opfer_aid_733696.html |url-status=live |access-date=2019-08-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190804225903/https://www.focus.de/politik/deutschland/focussiert-millionen-fuer-amok-opfer_aid_733696.html |archive-date=2019-08-04}}</ref>

Steinhäuser's last words – ''Für heute reicht's'' ("that's enough for today") – was also the title of a controversial book about the massacre written by Ines Geipel, who alleged that there were several mistakes made by the police on the case. Geipel, and relatives of some of the victims, criticized police for the initial speed of their response. The police had initially believed there was a second gunman, leading them to retake the school one level at a time rather than storm the entire building.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2004-04-21 |title=Hatte der Erfurter Amokläufer einen "Antreiber"? |language=de |trans-title=Did the Erfurt spree killer have a "driver"? |work=[[Stern_(magazine)|Stern]] |url=http://www.stern.de/politik/deutschland/bildungspolitik-schule/:Ermittlungen-Hatte-Erfurter-Amoklufer-Antreiber/522986.html |access-date=2017-10-03}}</ref> Police laws and police training were reformed in most federal states in response to the shooting. While police patrols were previously required to wait for a special task force, policemen all over Germany now get the necessary training and equipment to deal directly with mass shooters.<ref name="TheLocalGermany2017" />

Heise was hailed as a national hero for locking Steinhäuser in a room, which ended the killing spree, but was later subject to backlash from some members of the public due to questions about his role. Erfurt Mayor Manfred Ruge said he fully believes Heise, but acknowledged the teacher's rather direct and animated style combined with the vast media coverage had caused resentment in the town.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2002-05-16 |title=German hero faces town's wrath |work=[[Shanghai Star]] |url=http://app1.chinadaily.com.cn/star/2002/0516/cn10-2.html |url-status=dead |access-date=2017-10-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040228191827/http://app1.chinadaily.com.cn/star/2002/0516/cn10-2.html |archive-date=2004-02-28}}</ref>

The massacre led to the development of a code word that could be broadcast over the public address system to warn teachers of a shooting. "Mrs. Koma is coming", which is "[[Running amok|amok]]" spelled backwards, was later used at the [[Winnenden school shooting]] to alert teachers to that attack.<ref>{{cite news |last=Davies |first=Lizzy |date=2009-03-12 |title=Teenage killer wrote letter to parents saying he 'couldn't go on' |work=[[The Guardian]] |location=London |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2009/mar/12/school-shooting-germany-letter |access-date=2009-03-12}}</ref>

Steinhäuser was mentioned in a video created by Pekka-Eric Auvinen, who killed eight people during the [[Jokela school shooting]] in Finland.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Oksanen |first=Atte |url=https://www.researchgate.net/figure/People-mentioned-in-the-Mass-of-murders-video-by-Pekka---Eric-Auvinen-in-order-of_tbl1_233985954 |title=School Shootings: International Research, Case Studies and Concepts for Prevention |date=2013 |publisher=[[Springer Science+Business Media|Springer]] |isbn=978-1-4614-5526-4 |editor-last=Böckler |editor-first=Nils |location=New York |language=en |chapter=Jokela: The Social Roots of a School Shooting Tragedy in Finland |access-date=2022-10-11 |editor-last2=Seeger |editor-first2=Thorsten |editor-last3=Sitzer |editor-first3=Peter |editor-last4=Heitmeye |editor-first4=Wilhelm |via=[[ResearchGate]]}}</ref>