Charles Roberts

Mass Murderer

Charles Roberts and the 2006 West Nickel Mines Amish School Massacre

Background

Charles Carl Roberts IV was a 32-year-old milk-tanker driver who lived with his wife and three children in Georgetown, a rural community in Bart Township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. Born on December 7, 1973, Roberts was not Amish, but his work brought him into regular contact with Amish farming families in the Nickel Mines area. Some of the farms he visited were connected to families whose children attended the West Nickel Mines School. On October 2, 2006, Roberts carried out a planned hostage-taking and mass shooting at the West Nickel Mines School, a one-room Amish schoolhouse in Bart Township. He deliberately separated the female students from the boys and adults, restrained the girls and shot ten of them before killing himself. Five girls died during the immediate aftermath of the attack. A sixth victim, Rosanna King, survived with catastrophic injuries for nearly 18 years before dying on September 3, 2024.

Preparations for the Attack

Roberts prepared extensively before entering the school. He brought a 9mm semiautomatic handgun, a 12-gauge pump-action shotgun and a .30-06 bolt-action rifle. He also carried ammunition, a stun gun, knives, chains, flexible plastic restraints, wire, tools, wooden boards and other supplies. The rifle was brought into the school but was not fired during the attack. Investigators found suicide notes Roberts had left for his wife and children. He also telephoned his wife during the hostage crisis. His preparations, the equipment he carried and the messages he left demonstrated that the attack was not a spontaneous outburst. He had arrived intending to control the schoolhouse, hold children captive and die during the confrontation.

Entry into the West Nickel Mines School

At approximately 10:25 a.m. on Monday, October 2, 2006, Roberts backed his pickup truck close to the entrance of the West Nickel Mines School. The small school stood on White Oak Road in the rural Nickel Mines community of Bart Township, southeast of Lancaster. Roberts initially entered the classroom and asked teacher Emma Mae Zook and the students whether they had seen a missing metal clevis pin along the road. After receiving an answer, he returned to his truck and came back carrying a handgun. He then ordered several boys to help him bring weapons, lumber and equipment from the vehicle into the building. While Roberts was occupied, Emma Mae Zook and her mother, who was visiting the school, escaped and ran to a nearby farm. They asked farmer Amos Smoker to call emergency services. The first recorded emergency call was made at approximately 10:35 or 10:36 a.m. ...

Confirmed Victims: (5)

Naomi Rose Ebersol 7 yr old Female

Charles Roberts: The Amish Schoolgirl Massacre