They also claimed that he seemed to return to normal in the week leading up to the shooting.
Miller interviewed Roberts' co-workers, they claimed to have noticed a "change" in him over the months leading up to the shooting. When State Police Commissioner Jeffrey B. He had three children and a wife, for whom he left four separate suicide notes.
The gunman, identified as Charles Roberts IV, aged 32, was a milk tanker truck driver who served several Amish farms in the Nickel Mines area (including some of the victims' families). Mugshot of Charles Roberts IV, the perpetrator During the shooting, he fired at least 13 rounds from his pistol. As the first trooper in line reached a window, the shooting abruptly stopped Roberts had committed suicide. Shooting Īt approximately 11:07 a.m., Roberts began shooting the victims. Barbara was wounded, while Marian was killed. Shortly before Roberts opened fire, two sisters, Marian and Barbara Fisher, 13 and 11, requested that they be shot first, so that the others might be spared. Some conversed among themselves throughout the ordeal. ĭuring interviews conducted later it became apparent that all of the girls recognized the danger they were in. County and state police dispatchers had briefly established telephone contact with Roberts as he continued to threaten violence against the children. a large crowd-including police officers, emergency medical technicians, and residents of the village-had assembled both outside the schoolhouse and at a nearby ambulance staging area. Roberts refused, demanding that the officers leave. They asked Roberts to throw out his weapons and exit the schoolhouse. The police, while waiting for reinforcements, attempted to communicate with Roberts via the PA system in their patrol cars. The first trooper had arrived at approximately 10:42, about six or seven minutes after the 9-1-1 call. That would be the last successful attempt at an unnoticed move upon the building by anyone." Hoping for an opportunity to help the little girls, he slowly crept around one side of the wooden structure and positioned himself as an observer next to a side window." It continued, "Observing that the first police patrol vehicle to approach the scene was not slowing down to stop, the Amish man quickly withdrew from his hiding place and sprinted towards the roadway to wave down the trooper, who did a fast U-turn and parked. An article, "Revisiting the Amish Schoolhouse Massacre", described the situation prior to the arrival of the first Pennsylvania State Police troopers: "An Amish adult male from this farm, with his two large dogs, took the bold opportunity to stealthily approach the windowless back wall of the schoolhouse. Smoker's 9-1-1 call was recorded at 10:36 a.m. One girl, nine-year-old Emma Fisher, escaped without her older sister. Roberts ordered the girls to line up against the chalkboard and allowed a pregnant woman, three parents with infants, and all remaining boys to exit. Using wooden boards, Roberts barricaded the front door. The bag held a change of clothes, toilet paper, candles, and flexible plastic ties. Meanwhile, the boys carried in lumber, a shotgun, a stun-gun, wires, chains, nails, tools, a small bag and wooden board with multiple sets of metal eye-hooks. They reached the farm, where they asked Amos Smoker to call 9-1-1. Roberts saw them leave, and ordered one of the boys to stop them, threatening to shoot everyone if they got away. Zook and her mother, who was visiting, took this opportunity to escape and run toward a nearby farm for help. He ordered the boys to help him carry items into the classroom from the truck. After they said they had not seen a clevis pin, he went back to his truck and reentered the school holding a Springfield Armory XD 9mm handgun. Survivors said he mumbled his words and did not make direct eye contact. He asked the teacher, Emma Mae Zook, and the students if they had seen a missing clevis pin on the road. EDT, shortly after the children had returned from recess. Roberts backed a pickup truck up to the front of the Amish schoolhouse and entered it at approximately 10:25 a.m. Fatal shooting at school in Pennsylvania, USA.