Category: School Violence

Kin Say School Gunman Didn’t Molest Them:

NICKEL MINES, Pa. — Two relatives of the man who attacked an Amish school said they were not molested by him 20 years ago as he had claimed, investigators said Wednesday.

Charles Carl Roberts IV, 32, revealed to his family in notes he left behind and in a cell phone call to his wife from inside the West Nickel Mines Amish School that he was tormented by memories of molesting his two young relatives 20 years ago. He also spoke of having dreams about doing it again.

Investigators spoke to the two women, who would have been 4 or 5 at the time, and they said there was no such abuse.

“Both of them have no recollection of being sexually assaulted by Roberts,” state police Trooper Linette Quinn said.”They were absolutely sure they had no contact with Roberts.”

Which makes his victims’ deaths even more pointless.

Amish school gunman bought supplies 6 days before killings:

It seems that Charles Roberts was planning his deadly siege of the Amish school days before the attack. According to the article, he bought most of his supplies six days before the siege. That means that Roberts already had his siege in mind before Duane Morrison shot and killed a female hostage and himself at Platte Canyon High School in Colorado. Still, one has to wonder if the Platte Canyon siege further egged on Roberts’ desire to molest and kill. Even more disturbing than the fact that sexual lubricant was found at the crime scene was this…

A piece of lumber found in the school had 10 large eyebolts spaced about 10 inches apart, suggesting that Roberts may have planned to truss up the girls and sexually assault them.

The article also states that the relatives that Roberts claims to have molested are being interviewed by police.

The article also contains a list of the casualties…

The victims were identified as Naomi Rose Ebersole, 7; Anna Mae Stoltzfus, 12; Marian Fisher, 13; Mary Liz Miller, 8; and her sister Lena Miller, 7.

May God have mercy on your soul, Charles Carl Roberts IV.

Police: School killer told wife he molested family members:

What’s a word for ‘more than horrified’?

(CNN) — Pennsylvania schoolhouse killer Charles Carl Roberts IV said he molested minor family members 20 years ago and was dreaming about molesting again, police said Tuesday.

Roberts’ assault Monday killed five girls and wounded five others, police said, before he killed himself. Police have been trying to determine the motive behind the attack by talking to family members and analyzing suicide notes.

Pennsylvania State Police Commissioner Jeffrey Miller said Roberts may have targeted the school for its girl students and — given the various items found in the school — intended to molest the children.

He said KY Jelly lubricant was found in the schoolhouse where the assault occurred but there is no evidence that the victims were sexually assaulted in any way.

“It’s very possible, when he talks about doing the things and having dreams for the last two years about doing things that he did 20 years ago … he perhaps planned, with the kind of wood and eyebolts and flex cuffs and KY Jelly and other things, it’s very possible that he intended to victimize these children in many ways prior to executing them and killing himself,” Miller said.

Roberts also said he was mad at God for the death of his premature baby, Elise, born nine years ago, Miller said.

Miller said Roberts called his wife Monday morning and said, “‘I am not coming home. The police are here.’”

Then Miller said Roberts stated, “‘I molested some minor family members, family members that were 3 or 4 years old, 20 years ago.’”

“Roberts mentioned in his suicide note that he was having dreams of molesting again,” Miller said.

Miller said both sides of Roberts’ family were interviewed, including his parents, and his wife, and they said they had no knowledge of any molestation by Roberts affecting any family member or anyone else.

Could he have picked any more innocent victims to terrorize than Amish children?

There were a million things that Charles Roberts could have done to alleviate his guilt. Why did he have to choose this one?

5th girl dies after Amish schoolhouse shooting:

This is getting to be more than I can handle…

NICKEL MINES, Pa. – A milk-truck driver carrying three guns and a childhood grudge stormed a one-room Amish schoolhouse Monday, sent the boys and adults outside, barricaded the doors with two-by-fours, and then opened fire on a dozen girls, killing three people before committing suicide. Early Tuesday, two more children died of wounds, a hospital spokeswoman and state police said.

At least five other victims were critically wounded, authorities said.

The fourth victim, a 7-year-old girl, died about 4:30 a.m. Tuesday at Penn State Children’s Hospital in Hershey, hospital spokeswoman Amy Buehler Stranges said.

“Her parents were with her,” Buehler Stranges said. “She was taken off life support and she passed away shortly after.”

Shortly afterward, state police announced the death of a fifth child at a hospital in Delaware, Pennsylvania.

The article also states that Roberts’ ‘revenge’ may have had something to do with the death of Roberts’ child in 1997, but that’s hardly 20 years ago.

Amish School Shooting Leaves Four Girls Dead:

A fourth victim of Charles Carl Roberts IV has died…

Three girls were pronounced dead soon after the incident. A fourth girl later died at a Pennsylvania hospital, and at least six victims were still critically wounded, FOXNews confirmed.

Most of the victims had been shot execution-style at point-blank range after being lined up along the chalkboard, their feet bound with wire and plastic ties, authorities said. Two young students were killed, along with a female teacher’s aide who was slightly older than the students, state police Commissioner Jeffrey B. Miller said.

The victims were members of the Old Order Amish. Lancaster County is home to some 20,000 Old Order Amish, who eschew automobiles, electricity, computers, fancy clothes and most other modern conveniences, live among their own people, and typically speak a German dialect known as Pennsylvania Dutch.

My thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families.

Truck driver kills three girls in Amish school shooting:

32-year-old truck driver Charles Carl Roberts IV, armed with three guns, a stun gun, two knives and a bag holding 600 rounds of ammunition, stormed an Amish school in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. He shot and killed three girls execution style, wounded eight others, and took his own life.

The suspect called 911 and “made a declaration that if the state police didn’t leave the property he would start shooting people within 10 seconds.”

“Within seconds, he just started firing in rapid succession.”

Police then stormed the schoolhouse through the windows and found Roberts dead, Miller said. He had fired at least one shotgun blast at police.

The entire incident was supposedly revenge for an incident that happened 20 years ago.

The Bart, Pennsylvania, resident had three children, and left several notes for his family “along the lines of suicide notes,” Miller said.

The notes were “rambling” and “didn’t make much sense,” Miller said.

Roberts did not respond when police at the scene attempted to communicate with him, and troopers were preparing to storm the schoolhouse before the shooting began, Miller said.

Roberts’ wife tried to call him when she found the notes, Miller said. He returned the call on his cell phone, told her he wouldn’t be coming home and “that he was acting out to achieve revenge for something that happened 20 years ago.”

What could have possibly happened when he was 12 for him to take it out on defenseless Amish school girls? He released the boys, so he intentionally targeted the girls.

Miller said that during the attack, Roberts apparently told students to line up in front of the blackboard. He began to tie his female captives’ feet together. He let the 15 boys in the classroom leave.

Miller said Roberts also allowed an adult female who was pregnant to leave with three other adult females who had infant children with them.

The teacher who was released was able to alert authorities, Miller said.

“Apparently, there was some sort of issue in his past that for some reason, he wanted to exact revenge against female victims. That’s all I can tell you right now,” Miller said.

Miller said Roberts’ grudge did not appear to involve the Amish community and that he may have chosen his target out of convenience, perhaps thinking “getting into a school like this was maybe just a little bit easier.”

And was Roberts influenced by the Platte Canyon High School siege? He had to have been at least partially influenced by it. That’s too much of a coincidence.

I’ll have more to say once more details become available.