Family friend: Amish girl asked to be shot to save others
POSTED: 4:32 p.m. EDT, October 6, 2006
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PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvania (Reuters) -- One of the girls who died in Pennsylvania's Amish schoolhouse massacre asked the killer to shoot her first in an apparent bid to save the younger girls, a woman who spoke to the victim's family said Friday.
Rita Rhoads, a nurse-midwife who delivered 13-year-old Marian Fisher as well as another victim, said Fisher appealed to Charles Carl Roberts IV to shoot her first because she thought it might allow younger girls to survive.
Rhoads said she did not know whether Fisher in fact was shot first. Roberts shot 10 girls ages 6 to 13, killing five of them and then himself in Monday's rampage. (Watch "shocked and sad" Amish express forgiveness -- 2:46)
Fisher's 11-year-old sister, Barbie, appealed to Roberts to shoot her next, Rhoads said. Barbie survived and was in Children's Hospital of Philadelphia recovering from shoulder, hand and leg injuries.
"Barbie has been talking and she said Marian said, 'Shoot me first,"' Rhoads said. "Apparently what she was trying to do was to save the younger girls."
Barbie, who attended her sister's funeral Thursday before returning to the hospital, gave details of her ordeal to relatives including her grandfather, who told Rhoads, the midwife said in a telephone interview.
"It was very courageous of the girls to offer themselves," Rhoads said. "God was really present to give the girls that kind of courage."
Pennsylvania state police were not immediately available for comment.
Roberts, 32, a local non-Amish milk truck driver, attacked the one-room schoolhouse at Nickel Mines, a farming community in Lancaster County about 60 miles west of Philadelphia.
He allowed boys and adults to leave and then tied the legs of the girls before shooting them, police said.
Four of the girls including Marian Fisher were buried Thursday and a fifth funeral was being buried Friday.
The Amish, descendants of Swiss-German settlers, are a traditionalist Christian denomination who place particular importance on the Gospel message of forgiveness. They believe in nonviolence, simple living and little contact with the modern world.
This whole story really saddens me,like any story of innocent children being killed for no reason. Not only are they young children but they also come from a community where the people don't bother or hurt anyone.
3 school hostage situations in one week is sad enough. Our children are suppose to be worried about keeping their grades up, it will end up that they have to be worried whether they will be coming home alive or not.
I agree with you tara, not the kid bully bothering you it is thing like this are like tara said there grades and the parents worring how the kids are in school it is sad to think thing like this go on alot i feel for there families and my prayers go out to them all
so sad :'((. Those were sum brave angels. 0:
Ur Deer Friend
bams <O>
Dont understand how anyone could do such a horrible thing.
luna love the siggy
i dont know either but them was somr braves girls bless there little hearts
they were 0: for sure
Quote from: nightperson on October 08, 2006, 03:27:38 PM
luna love the siggy
i dont know either but them was somr braves girls bless there little hearts
they were 0: for sure
Thank you night. At least they are all in Heaven now with Peace
Quote from: luna on October 08, 2006, 03:32:31 PM
Quote from: nightperson on October 08, 2006, 03:27:38 PM
luna love the siggy
i dont know either but them was somr braves girls bless there little hearts
they were 0: for sure
Thank you night. At least they are all in Heaven now with Peace
yvw
I agree who could anyone do such horrible things make me wonder what the world is coming to!!
you and me both weims
The poor girl that survived is the one I feel for - she had to watch him shot her older sister and just sit there and not do anything. It's an awful world we are living in when stuff like this happens. :xx
it really broke my heart when i heard that on the news ... its a pity that man didnt seek help and those kids would of seen christmas .. god love them :(
All these school shootings and kids with guns scares me so. Everyday I drop off my grandsons with a special prayer to keep them safe. This world has become such a scary place when we can't even trust our kids to be safe in school.