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Father of German exchange student shot dead in Montana criticizes US gun culture

Associated Press
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In this picture taken Wednesday, April 30, 2014, the soccer team of 17-year old German exchange student Diren Dede SC Teutonia 1910 holds a minute of silence prior to a soccer match in Hamburg, northern Germany. The father of the student who was killed in the United States criticized the country’s gun laws upon his arrival in Montana where his son was fatally shot. Celal Dede told the German news agency dpa Thursday that “America cannot continue to play the cowboy.” (AP Photo/dpa, Daniel Reinhardt) (The Associated Press)

This undated still image taken from video shows Markus Kaarma at his home in Missoula, Mont. Kaarma has been charged with deliberate homicide in the shooting death of 17-year-old Diren Dede, an exchange student from Germany. Prosecutors said Kaarma fired his shotgun into his garage after sensors alerted him to an intruder Tuesday, April 27, 2014. (AP Photo/Bill Gorman) (The Associated Press)

In this Oct. 8, 2013, photo Diren Dede, right, plays in a Big Sky soccer game against Hellgate. Markus Kaarma, 29, was released from jail Monday, April 28, 2014, after posting a $30,000 bond on a charge of deliberate homicide in the death of Diren Dede of Hamburg, Germany. (AP Photo/The Missoulian, Tom Bauer) (The Associated Press)

The father of a 17-year-old German exchange student shot dead in Montana has criticized the gun culture in the U.S.

Celal Dede told the German news agency dpa Thursday that "America cannot continue to play cowboy."

Dede, who traveled to the U.S. to arrange the transport of his son Diren's body, said he had never imagined his son could be shot for simply entering somebody's property.

The 46-year-old said he wouldn't have allowed his son to participate in the exchange if he had known.

A homeowner in Missoula, Montana, on Sunday fired four blasts from a shotgun into his garage, killing Diren Dede who was inside. He faces a charge of deliberate homicide.

Celal Dede said he hoped the man would receive a fair punishment.