To his wife, Charles Carl Roberts IV was "loving, supportive, thoughtful." To his co-workers in rural Pennsylvania, Roberts was a milk truck driver whose mood had darkened in recent days. To himself, he was a ticking time bomb, consumed by a mysterious grudge that he had harbored for two decades. And to five young Amish schoolgirls on Monday, Roberts was judge, jury and executioner. Now the 32-year-old man is dead, his last act a final trigger pull with his gun aimed at himself. He died on the schoolhouse floor, surrounded by the bodies of his young prey. The reason for his rampage may have died with him. A meticulous and diabolical plan Monday began like any other school day in Paradise, Pennsylvania, a community in the heavily Amish Lancaster County. At a small Amish-run school, 26 students -- 11 of them girls -- began their lessons. They ranged in age from 6 to 13, with slightly older girls serving as teacher's aides. In the nearby town of Bart, Roberts dropped his own children off at their bus stop. He said farewell to his wife. "He told her he loved her and that was it," said State Police Commissioner Jeffrey Miller. Authorities say Roberts had meticulously planned his rampage against young girls, loading a borrowed pickup truck with three guns, knives and lumber. He also carried the plastic ties that he'd later use to bind his victims before shooting them at point-blank range. Roberts was not Amish, and he chose his victims not because of their beliefs but because they were convenient, Miller said. There was no security at the schoolhouse -- there is little need for it in Amish communities. After entering the schoolhouse, Roberts had the children line up in front of the blackboard. He tied the girls' feet together. He let the 15 boys leave. He also released four adult females. One of them alerted authorities. Roberts then used the lumber to barricade the doors so no one could get in -- or out. At home, Roberts had left "rambling" suicide notes, Miller said. Roberts' wife found one and tried to call him. He returned her call on his cell phone and said he wouldn't be coming home. Miller said Roberts told his wife that "he was acting out to achieve revenge for something that happened 20 years ago." Roberts would have been 11 or 12 at the time the apparent slight occurred. A deadly promise As police, alerted by the fleeing adults, arrived at the schoolhouse, Roberts dialed 911, Miller said. Roberts told a dispatcher that he'd start shooting his victims "within 10 seconds" if officers didn't get off the property. He meant it. One by one, he shot the 11 girls "in rapid succession," Miller said. Many of the victims suffered close-range wounds to the back of their heads. Police crashed through the windows when they heard the gunshots. What they found was a "horrendous crime scene," Miller said. Three of the girls were dead, one of them a teacher's aide. Two other girls were mortally wounded. The six others are hospitalized in critical condition. Their killer also lay dead. Miller said the suicide notes and telephone calls indicated that Roberts was "angry at life, he was angry at God." Co-workers said Roberts had stopped chatting and joking in recent days. Authorities said Roberts had no criminal record or history of mental problems. What drove him to commit the massacre remained a mystery early Tuesday. If authorities knew of a motive, they weren't saying. "This was something that was emanating from within him and his past," Miller told reporters. Lives of simple faith The Amish are conservative Christians who shun all modern conveniences, even electricity. All is simplicity. They do not drive automobiles but instead use horse-drawn buggies. Their farming equipment also is horse-drawn and has metal wheels instead of rubber tires. They stress humility, family and community, and separation from the world. They dress plainly -- the women in long, solid-colored dresses, and the men in dark colors and wide-brimmed hats. One of their deepest-held tenets is a devotion to peace and non-violence. They do not customarily fight back when attacked, heeding Christ's instruction to turn the other cheek. In death, as in life, simplicity is evident. According to "The Amish & The Plain People," a Web site that provides an overview of the Amish in Lancaster County, an Amish funeral is plain but reverent: "A plain wooden coffin is built ... it is very simple -- no ornate carving or fine fabrics. ... The tone of the two-hour Amish funeral service is hopeful, yet full of admonition for the living. There are no eulogies. Respect for the deceased is expressed, but not praise. A hymn is spoken but not sung. There are no flowers. "The grave is hand dug in an Amish church district cemetery. There will be only a simple tombstone to mark the spot, much like all the other tombstones in the cemetery -- in death as in life, we are all equal and do not elevate one person above another." In the coming days, horse-drawn carriages will carry five young girls to Amish church cemeteries in Pennsylvania. Their loved ones will take comfort in their faith in the life and the world to come, perhaps drawing strength from 1 Corinthians 15:55: "O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?" http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/10/03/penn.shooter/index.html DP Comments Post here:-
Pennsylvania schoolhouse killer Charles Carl Roberts IV told his wife he molested young relatives 20 years ago and was dreaming about molesting children again, police said Tuesday. And what followed was carnage
Precisely that seems a very strong point to focus on Why did he not kill himself and God? More comments needed to develop this point:-
The point is that like most weak and pathetic assholes, they take their anger out on innocent people rather than confronting the real source of their problem; themselves. He hated God but couldn't kill God so he killed little girls since he probably thought that maybe if he got rid of little girls he wouldn't have a problem anymore. Maybe he thought the horror of it would cure him. But then he realized that he just murdered little girls. The Bible says if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out. After realizing that killing people wasn't going to solve anything he plucked his brains out. Hint to future psychopaths: try plucking your brain out first. He should have admitted to his crime 20 years ago and went to jail if he wanted help being cured of his problem. Obviously he knew it was wrong so there was the potential to be helped.
He was a coward, and needed something to blame his perversions on. So he had an out with the emotional devastation of losing a newborn baby
He may have tried to ensure himself a place in hell. He hated god, so he probably wanted to stay as far away from heaven as possible. He hated himself, so he might have wanted to punish himself.
I think it is amazing that a lot of people on this earth are angry at God. The question is "why" should they be angry at God when all of these things are not caused by God? The very facts are found in the Bible and if people actually took the time to study it they will find it impossible of God to be charged or accused of being the cause of these things. Col
I'm very disturbed by people who curse God for things that happen to them. People that have had no experience with Christianity, people who have never taken the time to open a Bible or participate in anything that has to do with God, suddenly blaim God. It's one of my few pet peeves.
They should take his body and dump it into one of those huge tree shredding machines. Everyone blames God, including those that don't truly believe in God, because it's an easy excuse.