PA - Five girls dead, 5 injured in Amish school shooting, 2 Oct 2006

[Bobbisangel]

I gather that the 5 girls are all still alive? What a sad sad thing to happen to them. I know that yesterday LE was saying that the parents of the girls that were flown to other hospitals were driven as they don't fly. I don't know if I could have stood a long drive knowing that at the end of the line my daughter might be dying. I'll bet that was so hard on them driving all of that way not knowing what was happening at the hospitals. One family sat with their daughter after they got there and then made the decision to take her off of life support. I'm sure that they believed that God would keep her alive if it was meant to be. She died minutes later.

I know that LE knew that one of the girls would be alright as she was shot in the arm and back...I believe. The other 4 were in critical condition though. If they live I hope that they will fully recover.

I think that it has come to a point to where our schools should be locked during school hours. They could have a guard at the door. Someone licensed to carry a gun and knows how to use it. A buzzer could be buzzed if someone comes to the school to deliver or whatever. ID shown at the door and the reason for their being there announced....through a bullet proof little window.
A metal detector at each front door to check kids and visitors when they come into the building. That would eliminate guns coming into the school and people like that creep that raped the teens and murdered the one girl last week. Something has to be done to protect the kids and school officials, teachers, etc. I sure would agree with it.

 

[Floh]

I think that it has come to a point to where our schools should be locked during school hours. They could have a guard at the door. Someone licensed to carry a gun and knows how to use it. A buzzer could be buzzed if someone comes to the school to deliver or whatever. ID shown at the door and the reason for their being there announced....through a bullet proof little window.
A metal detector at each front door to check kids and visitors when they come into the building. That would eliminate guns coming into the school and people like that creep that raped the teens and murdered the one girl last week. Something has to be done to protect the kids and school officials, teachers, etc. I sure would agree with it.

Maybe public schools nationally may agree to your suggestions, but i don't believe the Amish would ever have their schools do such things.

 

[Floh]

Here's a story which appears to back what i just said:

Amish Schools Not Likely to Modernize

The quaint, one-room schoolhouses that dot Pennsylvania's verdant countryside are yet another expression of Amish simplicity in a time when some mainstream public schools rely on electronic buzzers and metal detectors to keep students safe.
In these schools, security is a simple lock. It is the only device that keeps out a potential intruder - and the buildings are usually unlocked while class is in session.
That low-tech approach to security is unlikely to change, experts say, despite a deadly school shooting committed Monday by a man whom police said apparently chose the West Nickel Mines Amish School because it was such an easy target.


http://apnews.myway.com/article/20061004/D8KHHJ9G0.html

 

[strach304]

This is such a tragedy!

I siincerely think the events happening in our schools need taken care of ASAP. Its time something is done to protect our kids. The schools need to take safety one step further. I think all schools should be in lockdown daily.
Once the kids go into the school they don't leave.

Nobody allowed to enter the schools unless there is an emergency, they may have to go through the cops to enter. Something needs done.......this is insane.

That guy was a animal......we probably will never know if he did get a chance to use the K-Y jell. I don't buy the fact he was ever normal or a nice guy. He was a sick, sorry azz, S O B.

I am so with you on this and very happy to report that my little granddaughter is staying with me and brought home a paper yesterday announcing the new lockdown enacted at her school because of the recent incidents. The doors stay locked the entire time, anyone coming there must now ring the bell and go through id, etc. to be buzzed in including parents at the side door only. The lobby has now been cut off completely and parents picking up their children have to wait outside and the children are let out the exit to them. I don't see even this as fullproof 100% just like anything but I applaud their immediate response and effort for a very serious situation where the security issues are still a concern and will take more time to implement.

 

[englishleigh]

I heard last night on Fox that one of the little girls, maybe the youngest at Children's in Philly, had been taken off life support by her family and home to die. No word on whether she has yet, if true.

 

[Floh]

I heard last night on Fox that one of the little girls, maybe the youngest at Children's in Philly, had been taken off life support by her family and home to die. No word on whether she has yet, if true.

Earlier in the thread i read a link which said she died shortly after being taken off life-support.

 

[luthersmama]

The ten girls are from seven families. The two sisters who died were in different hospitals and died just a few minutes apart.

http://local.lancasteronline.com/4/26390

 

[ljwf22]

Link: http://www.timesleader.com/mld/timesleader/15674480.htm

"Some of those involved recalled their roles in chilling detail a day later. Emma Mae Zook, 20, who was teaching German and spelling at the school, told the Intelligencer Journal of Lancaster she sensed trouble when Roberts came to her classroom door, wearing a baseball cap. "He stood very close to me to talk and didn't look in my face to talk," she said. Emma Mae and her mother, Barbie Zook, who was visiting the school, managed at one point to dart outside, run to a nearby farm and call police.

Deputy Coroner Janice Ballenger described the horrific task of examining 7-year-old Naomi, who weighed about 50 pounds, and was shot about 20 times. "Kneeling next to the body and counting all the bullet holes was the worst part," Ballenger said.

Church members visited with the victims' families Tuesday, preparing meals and doing household chores, while Amish elders planned the funerals.

"It's a tragedy we've never seen before," said the woman, whose father was a church bishop. Like many Amish, she declined to give her name. "They said it was a happy school," she said. "The children were happy, the teachers were happy."

Dwight Lefever, a Roberts family spokesman, spoke at a community prayer service Tuesday evening and said he was at the home of Roberts' father when an Amish neighbor came to comfort the family.

"He stood there for an hour, and he held that man in his arms, and he said, 'We will forgive you,'" Lefever said. "He extended the hope of forgiveness that we all need these days."

...........It really says something about the Amish that they would try to comfort the murderer's parents.

 

[luthersmama]

The teacher's story:

http://local.lancasteronline.com/4/26399

 

[englishleigh]

Earlier in the thread i read a link which said she died shortly after being taken off life-support.

Maybe what I posted was misinformation, but last night they were talking like it was an additional child to the one who died yesterday after being taken off life support...this was a different child, according to Greta...maybe b/c they took her home we won't hear of her death, officially.

 

[englishleigh]

The teacher's story:

http://local.lancasteronline.com/4/26399

The Amish are an example to all of us in the way they forgive instantly. The teacher wants to meet with Roberts' wife to comfort her...just amazing. God bless and comfort them all.

 

[shdbepaintin]

Not sure if this has been posted.
When reading articles on the Lancaster Paper and thier opinion board, I found this.
http://local.lancasteronline.com/4/26389

At the bottom half of this article
A hate group associated with a church in Topeka, Kan., plans to picket the funerals of the girls killed in the Monday shootings at West Nickel Mines School in Bart Township, according to a fax sent Tuesday to the Intelligencer Journal from the church.

Westboro Baptist Church, which regularly pickets the funerals of U.S. troops killed in Iraq and Afghanistan, claims the dead soldiers are punishment for America’s tolerance of homosexuality.

According to the fax, Westboro Baptist Church, which is headed by Fred Phelps, plans to picket here because Gov. Ed Rendell has criticized the church.


This is unimaginable that anyone anywhere would make this about "thier cause".

 

[englishleigh]

Gov. Rendell should have them all locked up for disturbing the peace. What happened to these little girls is not in any way connected to Iraq. This should not be allowed to happen at ALL. (And I never thought these idiots should be allowed to protest at soldiers' funerals, either.)

We had a soldier from our town get killed in Iraq and these nutjobs came here to protest at the funeral. :doh: A lot of residents protested against THEM. :woohoo:

 

[less0305]

Not sure if this has been posted.
When reading articles on the Lancaster Paper and thier opinion board, I found this.
http://local.lancasteronline.com/4/26389

At the bottom half of this article
A hate group associated with a church in Topeka, Kan., plans to picket the funerals of the girls killed in the Monday shootings at West Nickel Mines School in Bart Township, according to a fax sent Tuesday to the Intelligencer Journal from the church.

Westboro Baptist Church, which regularly pickets the funerals of U.S. troops killed in Iraq and Afghanistan, claims the dead soldiers are punishment for America’s tolerance of homosexuality.

According to the fax, Westboro Baptist Church, which is headed by Fred Phelps, plans to picket here because Gov. Ed Rendell has criticized the church.


This is unimaginable that anyone anywhere would make this about "thier cause".

I read this and I was literally SICK to my stomach!!! What kind of people could do this and then lay down at night and sleep!!!!! My husband is a member of the Patriot Guard group that ride motorcycles to the soldiers' funerals to block the protestors from the family - and it's certainly horrendous enough that they actually go to these funerals to picket - BUT to go to those little children's funerals and do this makes me want to vomit! All I got to say is Karma is going to come around and I wouldn't want to be in those people's shoes when it does, because it's gonna be bad when it finally comes back to them. :banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :furious: :furious: :furious:

 

[Clearly Confused]

I can imagine the injured girls are terribly frightened also of being in ambulances and helicopters being transported. I wonder if any parents were able to travel with them to the hospitals. Poor babies!!!

Hi Sadie,
I work next to CHOP and the girls were transported here by helicopter and the parents were driven here by the State Police.

 

[Clearly Confused]

This link doesn't work for me, what have you found?

Try this one.

http://http://www.newline.com/amishinthecity/

Then click where are they now.

 

[Shadow205]

Here is a link to the Press Release issued by the Westboro Baptist Church:

http://www.godhatesfags.com/fliers/oct2006/20061003_pennsylvania-school-girls.pdf

Anyone not familiar with Fred Phelps and his group should read some of the things on the website if you can stand to read it. :furious:

 

[Sundayrain]

Not sure if this has been posted.
When reading articles on the Lancaster Paper and thier opinion board, I found this.
http://local.lancasteronline.com/4/26389

At the bottom half of this article
A hate group associated with a church in Topeka, Kan., plans to picket the funerals of the girls killed in the Monday shootings at West Nickel Mines School in Bart Township, according to a fax sent Tuesday to the Intelligencer Journal from the church.

Westboro Baptist Church, which regularly pickets the funerals of U.S. troops killed in Iraq and Afghanistan, claims the dead soldiers are punishment for America’s tolerance of homosexuality.

According to the fax, Westboro Baptist Church, which is headed by Fred Phelps, plans to picket here because Gov. Ed Rendell has criticized the church.


This is unimaginable that anyone anywhere would make this about "thier cause".

Something is not right in any form when people are allowed to protest at a funeral. Maybe there needs to be a new law.
An old Amish father was heard telling the little ones, from this circle around one of the dead children.( inside the home)........ "Forgive the person who did this"......I had tears hearing that. This all forgiving group of people who are so demure and kind. So hardworking and full of traditions.
Then.......here comes the rude, obnoxious, extremist group.......
Whatever they want to prove or entertain, this is the wrong time and place.
I hope they are roped off into a corner someplace.
Sometimes our freedoms are mixed into something as disgusting as this......
I wish there was a legal way to stop them......but......it is a case where our freedoms hinder us. The only thing they need to protest is violence and at a better time.

 

[Clearly Confused]

I heard last night on Fox that one of the little girls, maybe the youngest at Children's in Philly, had been taken off life support by her family and home to die. No word on whether she has yet, if true.

The three girls in Children's in Philly are all still alive.

 

[kcksum]

Gov. Rendell should have them all locked up for disturbing the peace. What happened to these little girls is not in any way connected to Iraq. This should not be allowed to happen at ALL. (And I never thought these idiots should be allowed to protest at soldiers' funerals, either.)

We had a soldier from our town get killed in Iraq and these nutjobs came here to protest at the funeral. :doh: A lot of residents protested against THEM.
:woohoo:

They came to our home town after a soldier died and the response to shut them out was amazing. Our fire and ladder trucks came and tied a huge (I mean huge)american flag between the two ladders. they then promptly lowered the flag down in front of the protesters who were given a designated place to stand. The family filing into church never saw or heard these freaks, all they saw were the faces of every fire fighter, ems worker, and police officer in single file with that huge american flag behind them. It was awesome. I can't for the life of me understand why this church has any members if their into this, and how they have stayed in good standing with the Baptist convention is beyond me.