The Amish Girls

Sun, 15 Oct 2006 15:02:00 GMT

By Kate H.

A Little Amish girl holding a bunny

On Monday, October 2, 2006, a local milkman by the name of Charles Carl Roberts IV barged into a schoolhouse filled with Amish children in Pennsylvania. He took 10 Amish girls hostage after forcing the teacher and the boys to leave. Five of the girls were killed and the other five were wounded and are in serious condition. After shooting the girls, Roberts fatally shot himself. The reason for why he committed these horrible acts is because he was having “dreams” of molesting little girls. It is suggested in news accounts that at some point he decided to take action. In a suicide note sent to his wife Charles revealed that he had molested his young girl cousins years before and he now had an impulse to act out in such a manner again. This is a sad story for many reasons. The girls who died were between the ages of seven and thirteen. But what touches my heart and makes me think about how horrible this occurrence was, is that after these little innocent girls had their lives taken away, the families of these Mennonite children have decided to not blame the man responsible. The Amish do not think evil of other human beings, it is against their religion to hate. A man from outside of their world came in and disrupted, perhaps destroyed, their lives and they have forgiven him. I do not know how they manage to not hate the man who killed their children. The saddest part of this tragedy is that there was no reason for the girls die. They had not done anything to this man. I have so much respect for these people, they are remarkable. I am angered because no one had a right to disrupt their lives. The pain of this story touched me more than any piece of news I have read, listened to, or watched in a long time. I do not know why I am so intrigued by this story, but I do know that this story will always remain in my heart.

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The Amish Girls