Just two years ago today, the country watched in horror as it was reported that a lone gunman infiltrated a one-room Amish schoolhouse and went on a massacre that left five girls dead and five others wounded. During the attack, the boys were sent out of the school, leaving the girls behind with the gunman, who after the attack, killed himself.
The quiet town of Nickle Mines, Pa is a place of lots of pasture. On any given weekday, you will usually find various Amish folks mowing their lawns with rotary cutters, working in the fields, hanging laundry out to dry, or just walking along the road.
There must have been an eerie quiet that took place today, while people went about their regular routines. Amish country is not far from where we live. While there are no Amish living in our town, it is not unusual to spot members of the Amish on outings here and there. Last year on the anniversary, members of the community held a quiet gathering.
Four of the five girls who were injured have since returned to school. One is still in a coma. Of course, it isn’t the same school. That one was razed to the ground by the Amish community following the shooting. All that remains at the spot is clear pasture. Instead a new school, the New Hope Amish School, takes its place in a separate location. That school was closed today, presumably in observation of the tragedy.
School shooting always hit me so hard. Here are innocent children gunned down by usually other children. It is disturbing. But, I think the Nickle Mines massacre leaves an especially sore place in my heart. Here was an adult whose seemingly only aim was to kill children, specifically young girls. And these girls were part of a pacifist society that is usually immune to such horrible violence.
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