Something in his past drove killer, he reportedly told wife

NICKEL MINES, Pa. — Pennsylvania's tranquil Amish country was shattered Monday when a 32-year-old truck driver who delivered milk, Charles Carl Roberts, entered a one-room schoolhouse and shot two students and a teacher's aide to death, wounded seven others, then killed himself.

Most of the victims had been shot execution-style at point-blank range after being lined up along the chalkboard, their feet bound with wire and plastic ties, authorities said.

Roberts was not Amish and appeared to have nothing against the Amish community, said State Police Commissioner Jeffrey B. Miller .

The gunman had called his wife during the siege by cellphone to tell her he was getting even for some long-ago offense, according to Miller. Roberts had left several rambling notes to his wife and three children that Miller said were "along the lines of suicide notes" indicating Roberts was "angry at life, he was angry at God."

Co-workers at the dairy said his mood had darkened in recent days and he had stopped chatting and joking around with fellow employees and customers, the officer said.

Miller said Roberts had been scheduled to take a drug test on Monday. But the officer said it was not clear what role that may have played in the attack.

Miller said investigators were looking into the possibility the attack may have been related to the death of one of Roberts' own children. According to an obituary, Roberts and his wife, Marie, lost a daughter shortly after she was born in 1997.

Miller said Roberts apparently was preparing for a long siege, arming himself with a 9-mm semiautomatic pistol, a 12-gauge shotgun and a rifle, along with a bag of about 600 rounds of ammunition, two cans of smokeless powder, two knives and a stun gun on his belt.

He also had rolls of tape, various tools and a change of clothes.

According to investigators, Roberts walked his children to the school-bus stop, then backed his truck up to the Amish school, unloaded his weapons and several pieces of lumber and walked in around 10 a.m.

He released about 15 boys, a pregnant woman and three women with babies, Miller said.

He barricaded the doors with two-by-fours and two-by-sixes nailed into place, piled-up desks and flexible plastic ties; made the remaining girls line up along a blackboard; and tied their feet together with wire ties and plastic ties, Miller said.

The teacher and another adult at the school fled to a farmhouse nearby, and someone there called 911 to report a gunman holding students hostage.

Roberts apparently called his wife around 11 a.m., and moments later told a dispatcher he would open fire on the children if police didn't back away from the building.

Within seconds, troopers heard gunfire. They smashed the windows to get inside and found his body.

Monday afternoon, Dwight Lefever, a family friend, read a brief statement on behalf of Roberts' wife, Marie:

"The man who did this today is not the Charlie that I've been married to for almost 10 years. My husband is loving, supportive, thoughtful, all the things you'd always want and more. He was an exceptional father. He took the kids to soccer practice. He played ball in the backyard. And took our 7-year-old daughter shopping. He never said no when I'd ask him to change a diaper.

"Our hearts are broken. Our lives are shattered. And we grieve for the innocence and lives that were lost today.

"Above all, please pray, especially for the families who lost children, and please pray, too, for our family and children."

Compiled from The Associated Press, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Gannett News service, Newhouse News Service