Amish School Shooting

On Monday, October 4, 2006 a dreadful shooting happened in an Amish school in Nickel Mines, Pa. The shooter, Charles C. Roberts, pounded on the school doors with chains, clamps, and guns. When he finally entered into the school, he tied up several girls from the ages of six to thirteen. He eventually shot ten of these girls and killed five of them before committing suicide. He threatened several others by separating the girls from the boys and forcing them to line up in a specific order. Roberts made these children fear for their lives, leaving permanent damage to those who survived. Teachers and students were equally terrified because they had never experienced something remarkably horrific in their lives. Roberts however left suicide notes claiming that his behavior had been affected by his child who died twenty minutes after birth. Even though he was not Amish, he was familiar with the area because he drove a milk truck in the Amish community near the school. The Amish had made peace with what had happened and forgave Roberts for what he had done. They welcomed his father-in-law and accepted his apology. This is an important current event because it affected so many lives within a community. It is terrible that a specific group was targeted, and that the victims were none other than children.

The Amish community is a relatively old religious sect of the Anabaptists who challenged Martin Luther’s reforms. The Anabaptists fled to Switzerland, and then Jakob Amman broke away from the Swiss Mennonites because he believed they were not strict enough. There were several matters that angered Amman which caused this separation. The Amish came over to the New World in the 1730s to the land where William Penn was in charge. There were also several other locations where the Amish settled, such as Indiana, Ohio, and other sections of Pennsylvania. There are several different orders of the Amish and the older the order, the stricter it becomes. The Amish base their lives on the Ordnung, their set of rules. It dictates to them their faith and helps them live an Amish life. The way they dress is symbolic and meaningful to their religion and their beliefs, and it promotes separation from the world. The Ordnung also tells them refrain from using technology. The Amish strongly believe in education for all children and family life is exceptionally important. They are not allowed to divorce and Amish can only marry another Amish, no exceptions. The Amish are deeply religious and worship God.