Amish Tear down Place of Massacre

At 4:45 A.M. the building where five Amish children were killed was torndown. Maybe it was the need for closure or just wanting to get the schoolhouse out of their site, but they allowed the outside world to bulldoze what will now become a pasture. It took 15 minutes to flatten the building and another 3 hours to remove the debris. School will be in a garage until a another one can be raised.

The Amish are not known for using modern equipment or allowing outsiders assist, but this time the community wanted closure of Oct. 2, when Charles Carl Roberts IV went into the one room schoolhouse and held hostage students for over an hour before shooting 10 girls, killing 5 before turning the gun on himself.

The Amish should be applauded for this decision, unlike other schools where the children are forced back into the very rooms that they were held hostage, shot, or whatever. This must be traumatizing on the children since it is a constant reminder of what happened to them.

Roberts killed these girls in revenge for the death of his daughter nine years ago. Supposedly in his note, he claimed that he was mad at God and himself. Where does killing innocent children come in one must wonder, but apparently he had deeper issues than he displayed.

The Amish showed great dignity in forgiving him, some even mourned for him at his memorial service. Something snapped in this man and sadly no one saw it coming.