School Shooting:Multiple Deaths in Lancaster, PA Amish School, Shooter Kills Self

Fox News Alert ^ | 02 OCT 06

[DCBryan1]

Developing....

School Shooting injures one person,

Hostage situation may be developing.

Update: Multiple Shooting Victims and Possible Hostages in Lancaster County

Not many details available yet, but an incident has been reported from Mine Rd. in Bart Township in Lancaster County involving multiple gunshot victims. Dennis Buterbaugh reports live from our newsroom. abc27 has a news crew on the way. We will update with details as they become available.

Update 2: Pennsylvania Police: Amish School is 'Horrendous Crime Scene' After Shooting

NICKEL MINES, Pa. — At least two female students and one slightly older female — who may have been a teacher's aide — were shot and killed execution style in what police say may be a revenge killing for something that happened 20 years ago.

State Police Commissioner Jeffrey Miller said Monday that truck driver Charles Carl Roberts IV entered the one-room Amish schoolhouse in earlier in the day. The gunman brought in pieces of wood to board up the doors to the building when he entered the school. He also stacked desks against the building's doors.

"It appears that the suspect entered school with the intention of taking hostages," Miller said.

Roberts had wire ties and plastic flex cuff, which he used to begin tying the hostages feet together after they were lined up along a blackboard. He let go 15 male students, as well as one adult female who was pregnant. Three other non-student females with infants were also allowed to leave. One shotgun and one handgun was found next to the suspect when police entered the building.

"It seems as though he wanted to attack young, female victims," Miller said.

After a half hour inside, Roberts began shooting. When the gunfire stopped, three females were found shot dead at the scene, along with the suspect, who shot himself, Miller said. At least seven more victims — some critically wounded — were transported to nearby hospitals, he said. One victim, a young girl, died in the arms of a trooper, Miller said. He could not confirm how many people died en route or at the hospital. The county coroner earlier reported six children killed but then backed off of that statement.

Excerpt

[LibertyRocks]

Only a select few threads per day are put in the "Breaking News" section. Think of it like the "Lead Stories" on a newscast. The links are then left up till they get bumped out by new articles.

[penelopesire]

thanks for the ping..this is so tragic!

[kjam22]

Certainly we're just speculating. Maybe some better trained, older, more seasoned, stubborn, or whatever you want to say .... teacher might have controlled the situation to some degree.

I've seen events happen at my wife's school that she could handle and resolve that first or 2nd year teachers were completely inept at. (I know in this case we're talking about a killer who wanted to die).

Maybe the nature, age, maturity, etc of the teacher there was a factor in the outcome. And maybe not. We're just speculating.

It's just a sad thing either way.

[La Enchiladita]

I still cannot believe this happened...

A beautiful area ... beautiful people ... shattered.

Jesus, be with the people of Nickel Mines.

[Pyro7480]

The movie "The Village", an Amish-type genre was a reflection of the fact you cannot run from human violence.

I think it was good point. There are groups of conservative/traditional people who think they can insulate themselves from the secular world, and save themselves and their families from the bad influences. While I admire their efforts, as long as human nature is weak, there will be sin. If such people are Christian, I think they run the risk of ignoring Our Lord's commission to spread the Gospel to the four corners of the earth.

[bonfire]

"Jesus, be with the people of Nickel Mines."

Amen.

[RDTF]

that was baaaad

[WV Mountain Mama]

That would be really great to hear... or at least something that would far exceed the horror the poor girls were subjected to, and certainly never deserved.

[Pyro7480]

Ah, Gabz! I didn't see you on this thread. I left for 45 minutes or so. Thanks for your response. :-)

[Rte66]

The only place I've seen the name of the school itself said:

West Nickel Mines Amish School

[Rosenkreutz]

>> The left is responsible for these killings.

Isn't that a variation on the 'society made me do it' line?

[Sisku Hanne]

You have no clue about who these people are, and that is not your fault. But I do. This is in my own back yard.

What makes this abominable act even more heinous is this unspeakable monster knew that by targeting these Amish girls he was picking the most innocent and helpless victims he could. They are so far from worldly they likely cannot fathom humans would do something like this, let alone know how to defend or respond to it.

Now you have your answer and no longer need to wonder. Please lay off this poor girl who faced a horror we, God willing, will never ever face.

[Pyro7480]

Ultimately, our weak human nature is responsible.

[Stoltz13]

"Some evil sorts loathe decency and morality because it is so foreign and unreachable to them, supposedly."

true.

[Gabz]

I've been reading along, but have only made a few comments. I've been on the phone with a friend, who's about the same age as you, and she has been really upset about this....we both have elementary school children, plus she also has a toddler.

[joanie-f]

No innocent person should die at the hands of another. But somehow the tragedy of innocent death is magnified when the victim is a child. And when that child is a small Amish girl who is murdered execution style in her little one-room schoolhouse, the mind somehow cannot wrap itself around the idea that such depravity exists.

Where in the ranks of humanity does one come across a man who could bind such a young child, force her to stand in front of a blackboard in her classroom, point the muzzle of a gun at hear head, and shoot her dead?

The Amish are not a caricature of a people. They are a people who, while the rest of us have grown soft and complacent, continue to embody all of those time-honored character traits that the American pioneers mustered from within in order to build the most decent, moral, prosperous civilization in the history of mankind.

The Amish are God-fearing, honest, simple, rugged, hard-working, courageous people who are unyielding in their religious and lifestyle beliefs, and who are not subject to the winds of fleeting trends or political correctness.

They have not fallen prey to the superficial, materialistic mindset that so often permeates so much of modern American thought. The love of God, devotion to family, and the belief that hard work is its own reward, are, and always will be, the cornerstone of Amish culture.

They are not a covetous people, nor are they a violent people. They believe that, within the will of God, one reaps what one sows. So today’s tragedy in southern Lancaster County will be interpreted as God’s will. And the Amish know that we humans do not always comprehend the reasons behind such seemingly senseless tragedies. But they will turn to the Lord for answers, and for the strength and comfort that only He can provide them now.

Those newscasters that I have heard today speaking about the need for more stringent school security measures, and the fact that counsellors and adivsors will be on hand for the victims and their families, are all speaking from their own vantage point … a shallow perspective that is entirely foreign to Amish culture.

As heartbreaking as today’s murders are, the Amish of Bart Township will not now begin planning how better to physically secure their little schoolhouses. Nor will they be seeking out ‘professional help’ in order to make their grief bearable. Instead, their needs for security, solace and a listening ear will be met within their own small community, and as they communally turn to the Lord as their infallible source of wisdom, comfort and strength.

We all need to remember in prayer the families of the victims and survivors of today’s tragedy, as well as the family of the man who caused this unspeakable heartbreak. All are innocents whose lives will never be the same, and all are in need of our prayers.

~ joanie
Allegiance and Duty Betrayed

[Toespi]

MSNBC: Hospital spokesman, 13, 8, and 6 year old are at Hershey Med Center all in critical condition.

[DCBryan1]

Good summation.

OFF TOPIC: All the Alphabet news agencies have quit reporting this story in the last hour...seems like the MSM is going back to Bush Bashing, Foley Fondling, and Pelosi Pandering.......

Poor kids.

[trisham]

Please lay off this poor girl who faced a horror we, God willing, will never ever face.

**************

Amen. Amen.

[daybreakcoming]

Yeah, it may have turned out differently. All of them might have been killed instead of some clinging to life. He had already set the little girls up for execution and himself for suicide - he had no intention of negotiating anything.