Amish School Shooting; In case anyone had any doubts...

Amish School Shooting; In case anyone had any doubts...
That the entire planet has gone totally friggin lunatic! 26 minutes ago NICKEL MINES, Pa. - A gunman killed six people at a one-room Amish schoolhouse Monday morning in Pennsylvania's bucolic Lancaster County, and several others were taken to hospitals with injuries, authorities said. "So far, six confirmed dead, and the helicopters are pulling into (Lancaster General Hospital) like crazy," Coroner G. Gary Kirchner said. It was unclear if the shooter was among the six. State Police Cpl. Ralph Striebig said earlier that the shooter was dead. Three girls, all in critical condition with gunshot wounds, were admitted to Lancaster General Hospital, spokesman John Lines told WGAL-TV. Officials at the Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center confirmed that victims also were being admitted there. A spokeswoman said the hospital anticipated more than one patient. Police surrounded the one-room school in southeast Lancaster County late Monday morning, and the Lancaster County 911 Web site reported that dozens of emergency units were dispatched to a "medical emergency" at 10:45 a.m. Three dozen people in traditional Amish clothing, broad-brimmed hats and bonnets stood near the small school building, surrounded by a low white fence, speaking to one another and authorities. Others gathered with a group of children at a nearby farm while investigators stretched out in a line across a field searching for evidence. The school is situated among farmlands just outside Nickel Mines, a tiny village about 55 miles west of Philadelphia. Pepette lives not too far from these Amish places, I think? Someone go see if she and Simba are okay! And disarm them if need be...

Last week's shooting upset me. Both anger and sorrow. This one has me shaking...literally....with rage. I need to go calm donw. I can barely type.

One thing I don't get in cases like this is why? Why shoot children who had nothing to do with what the guy is upset about? Even if you are mad about something and seeking revenge or whatever over someone who wronged you, is killing them the only way to make your point? Many of these type of killers end up killing themselves after their rampage. Why don't they just take a gun to themselves instead of killing innocent people first? It makes me livid because it makes no sense and hurts a lot of people who did nothing wrong. Plus incidents like this make people distrust each other further and makes you wonder if there is any good left in the world or if evil is winning.

Many of these type of killers end up killing themselves after their rampage. Why don't they just take a gun to themselves instead of killing innocent people first? Pika, this is exactly what I ask myself after horrible crimes of this sort, whether at schools, or workplaces or at a family gathering. Why wreck and ruin innocent lives? Here's another articl on this story, which mentions 4 killed instead of the 6 in Tif's story, so it's probably an earlier report, but it tells of a possible motive and also mentions the other recent school shootings of which there seems to be a rash of lately, possibly "copy-cat". Whatever, it's so sad .... Gunman Kills 3 girls, Self At Pennsylvania School 51 minutes ago A gunman opened fire at an Amish school in rural Pennsylvania on Monday, shooting and killing three girls and wounding seven others before killing himself, police said. The shooting took place at a one-room schoolhouse in rural Lancaster County, about 60 miles west of Philadelphia. Three girls were confirmed dead and seven people were injured, state police said. He shot the victims "execution style" in the head, police said. The gunman arrived at the school in the late morning and took hostages, Cmdr. Jeffrey Miller of the Pennsylvania state police told a news conference at the scene in Bart Township. He began shooting an automatic handgun, and police then charged the schoolhouse, Miller said. The gunman had tied up the girls, while letting the boys and some others leave, Miller added. He said the three dead girls appeared to have been two students and a teacher's aide -- an older girl. The school teaches students aged about 6 to 13. "It's a horrendous crime scene," Miller said. The gunman was identified as truck driver Charles Carl Roberts, 32, a local resident. Miller said the motive was still being determined, but "apparently he did make a statement to his wife that he was acting out of revenge... for something that occurred 20 years ago." The incident was the third school shooting in a week in the United States. TRANQUIL RURAL COMMUNITY The Pennsylvania shooting occurred in a normally placid, rural community where Amish farmers live simply, shunning modern machines and vehicles including cars, travel by horse and buggy and cultivate their land using old-fashioned traditions. Tourists visit the area to buy antiques and old-fashioned quilts. The shooting was a shock to a community that one resident called almost crime-free. Aaron Meyer, owner of a local buggy company, told CNN: "In this township of about 30,000 people, we have no police. Because there's just virtually no crime. Many of these townships here have no police at all." A witness told the Lancaster New Era newspaper that the gunman pulled up in a pickup truck outside the Georgetown School and ran into the schoolroom where several children were doing their lessons. The teacher and some visitors fled and ran to a nearby farm for help, while the gunman ordered all the boys out of the school. He then began to fire his gun, while state police troopers shouted, "Roy! Put the gun down! Put the gun down, Roy!" the witness told local reporters. The troopers then fired at the gunman, the witness said. The Pennsylvania shooting followed reports earlier on Monday of lockdowns at two Las Vegas area schools as police searched for an armed youth, local television reported. Last Friday a 15-year-old student killed his school's principal in western Wisconsin, and last Wednesday a drifter took six female high school students hostage in Colorado, molested them and then shot one to death and killed himself as police closed in.

evil is winning. For now, sadly... One day that will change.

I turned on CNN to see the updates but had to turn it off. Just reading about it is bad enough. I don't understand why these people have to take others out with them, especially children and people that have absolutely nothing to do with them or their troubles.

Its frightening. The man drove a milk tanker, most of the farms over there are dairy farms, theres a real good chance that he knew the families of at least some of his victims. Those kids were the same ages as his own children probably. This is the 2nd school shooting that has happened way too close to home for me. Back in 2003 a 13yr old boy shot and killed the Jr High principal then killed himself. That one was in my school district.

Roberts was not Amish, and he chose his victims not because of their beliefs but because they were convenient, Miller said. There was no security at the schoolhouse -- there is little need for it in Amish communities. There is no reason in this world to kill children....but that statement above haunts me....

Two more girls died, thats 5 dead now. :cry: If he choose them because they were convienient, why let the boys go and the older women? If the story about being over something that happned when he was about 12 and involved little girls is true, then I think he targeted them because they were little girls close to the same age he was when whatever the thing was happened. The only convienience was that there was no security. One of the theories out out by the police is they think he planned it all out. His coworkers said he seemed preoccupied for a several days then his last night of work he was more up, probably because his plan was all set.

Two more girls died, thats 5 dead now. :cry: If he choose them because they were convienient, why let the boys go and the older women? If the story about being over something that happned when he was about 12 and involved little girls is true, then I think he targeted them because they were little girls close to the same age he was when whatever the thing was happened. The only convienience was that there was no security. One of the theories out out by the police is they think he planned it all out. His coworkers said he seemed preoccupied for a several days then his last night of work he was more up, probably because his plan was all set. I agree. I think the convenience part was the lack of security and the fact that there were little girls. It could have been any school. This one just happened to be the closest. Sad....just heartbreakingly sad for the families of the little girls and this man's family.

Last Thursday they razed the schoolhouse, had it down before the sun was up. I think its a good thing they did that, its not like they can go back there and avoid the room it happened in. The boys returned to school at a nearby farmhouse. A ride for the Amish... I teared up when I heard about this on the news. It restored a little bit of my faith in mankind. This past sunday there was a motorcycle ride to raise money for the victims. It was planned in just 2 days, advertised with 35 fliers and they were hoping to raise $5000. By the start on Sunday, they had over 3000 riders, that stretched for 12 miles, raised $34,000 and had riders from as far away as California, the riders wore white ribbons tied around their arms for the innocent. The Amish stood by the roadside and watched as they passed by which in itself is something considering they dont usually participate in such things. On the news one rider said he teared up as he seen the Amish men remove their hats and place them over their hearts.

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