I can't believe these senseless school shootings...But this one hits close to home! Hoping all is well!

I just saw this as the News broke into regular programming. What a terrible thing!

I don't know any details, yet. Even though I'm very close to the incident (about 5-10 miles), I haven't heard anything you haven't heard. We know someone at the site, but everything is tight-lipped. This is all I know - numerous people were killed (I've heard at least six), it was at a one-room amish school house, and the shooter is dead, too. I don't know if it was self-inflicted or if he was taken out. Like I said, you guys probably know as much as me. Who ever would've thought this would happen at an amish school!!!

Wow! Terrible! 5 dead so far. He specifically targeted the female children - let the boys go and the adult women. Bound the girls feet and shot them execution style in the head - three dead at the scene, others taken to area hospitals. Something about revenge for some incident 20 years ago.

Any updates Marlene? I was thinking about you and Marci.

CNN has live coverage today. It's sick. This guy had rope, stun guns and all kinds of stuff proving that he was going to sexually abusing these girls before he killed them. Sick pervert. The fifth little girl died last night and there is another who is in critical condition. The girls ranged in age from 6 to 13. The wife of this guy said that their whole weekend was perfect, that he was playing with their child and everything was very normal. I still haven't heard about what happened 20 years ago, the supposed reason he was getting revenge. They say he had nothing against the Amish, it was just that he lived close to this one particular school and thought that it would be a sure thing, that he could kill them all and do what he wanted and it would take a long time for the police to get there since it was so far out. Ugh, makes me sick.

Now they are saying that he confessed to his wife that he sexually molested 2 relatives 20 years ago and that he was constantly having dreams of molesting again and wanted to do it again. They say he had lubricant with him and that's what he planned to do with these poor little girls. Pig

Okay, there was a live news conference at noon today. He had planned this for about a week -they found receipts dated over the last six days for the various items he used . They also found a list of items needed to pull this off in his truck with check marks beside various items. He left suicide notes for his three kids and his wife. In his wife's letter he talked about how nine years ago, they had a premature baby who died after 20 minutes and he said that affected him greatly and he was never the same after that. He could not get over it and he began to hate God and hate himself. He also refered to some incident that happened 20 years ago and how he's been having dreams about it and wanting to do it again. His wife didn't know what he was refering to. Then he called her from the schoolhouse and said the police were there and that he was not coming home and he said that he had molested two very young family members 20 years ago. Family members have been interviewed and so far no one knows anything about this. He did have items that suggested he was planning a sexual assualt, but when the police arrived, he lost his concentration and they believe he abandoned his original plans and started the killing. As for it being an Amish school - well, he lived nearby and he was able to get in and take control much easier than anywhere else. When the weather is nice, those school doors are open, they never lock or use any security. An Amish school house is the LAST place you would ever imagine this kind of horror happening! I wonder if they will start locking up after this. I don't know if you guys heard, but there were sisters killed - so one family lost two daughters! It's an awful, awful thing to happen to anyone one, but it seems especially awful that it happened to the amish - they are such a peace-oriented community.

The Amish community is really pulling together.
We have been in touch with our Amish neighbors a few times in the past two days. We give them the latest the information that we have and they let us know what they heard.
Everyone here is stunned and my neighbors are waiting to see who the other children are. Since they aren't in the same district the word hasn't spread. as fast as they would like it too.
A friend of mine is starting a fund to raise money to help pay for the hospital expenses. She is sure that the Amish families across the country will pitch in and help but it is going to cost a lot of money. Since most of the children were air lifted out of Lancaster.
Life has once again shown that it is sicker then fiction.

I just heard from a friend of mine that one of the families had three girls shot. I suspect that two were killed and the other is at one of the hospitals.
The people in the community that know the names are keeping hush until the media puts it out.

The media did give the names at noon - even the spelling of the names. I can't remember them and I did not write them down. I'm sure they will give the names again this evening and they will be in the papers.

This is terrifying to think that our kids are not safe in schools! My heart breaks for those poor parents. What a sicko!

Marlene I'm sure the last names are either Foster, Miller or Martin, seems like all the Amish up there have that last name.

I was crying when I saw this on TV this morning. I am a teacher in a public high school. When 2 incidences happened last week it was hard enough to go to send Justin to school and go to work. But this morning, I just wanted to hold Justin and not let him go. This world is a mess.

Well, as time goes on there seem to be more and more connections with someone who knows someone connected with one or another of the families. My husband has a co-worker who is an aunt to two of the little girls who died. My husband's boss was raised Amish. This tragedy touches so many here in Lancaster.
A lady in my Bible study group is a great aunt to the wife of the shooter. She said they were just with him and his family two weeks ago at a family gathering. She said he has always been a good father and husband. His wife issued a statement after the shooting also stating that he had been a good father. Something must have gone terribly wrong in his mind to commit something so horrendous. How could a father who loved his children do something like this to someone elses children?
I feel bad for his family too. His wife left the house before him that morning to go to a prayer group called Moms in Touch. (I don't know if Moms in Touch is in other states or not). It is a prayer group for mothers to get together regularly to pray for their children. So here she was praying for kids while her husband was shooting kids.
It's all so very very sad.