US National Clergy Council to Visit Amish Community after School Shooting

The President of the National Clergy Council in the U.S. has announced he will visit the Amish community in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, that has been left shocked and devastated after a gunman opened fire in one of its schools, killing five girls.

|PIC1|The Rev Rob Schenck, who is also President of the Washington DC-based ministry, Faith and Action, said that yesterday's shooting was "one more sign of a deep sickness in America's soul".

"Whenever children are targeted for murder, it indicates the very lowest level of demoralisation," he said.

"There is nothing more evil on this planet than child killing. Our prayers are with the victims, their parents and family and with the community. May God have mercy on our nation."

Mr. Schenck will convey condolences from tens of thousands of church leaders and lay people representing numerous Christian denominations. He will also hold two private prayer meetings at the homes of family members and friends of victims.

"There is no more heinous crime than the deliberate murder of innocent children.

"To attack the Amish only adds to the evil of such a barbaric act. Our prayer will be for God's love to comfort and heal these shattered lives."

The announcement of his visit came as the latest reports said a fifth girl had died from her injuries sustained during the shooting.

Charles Carl Roberts IV burst into the one-room schoolhouse Monday morning and ordered the boys and women, including the teacher and a pregnant lady, to leave the room before he lined up the girls, tied up their feet and shot them execution-style before the blackboard.

Police stormed the room at the sound of the shots but were too late to save three girls who died at the scene. A further seven were taken to hospital suffering from massive gunshot wounds. Roberts died after turning the gun on himself.

In addition to the three girls who died yesterday, a nine-year-old girl died at 5am GMT today and another, aged seven, passed away at 8.30am.

Police spokeswoman Linette Quinn said the girls who died this morning had suffered "very severe injuries, but the other ones are coming along very well", Sky News reported.

Of the injured, four girls aged six, eight, 10 and 12 were in a critical condition while a 13-year-old was in a serious condition.

Commissioner Jeffrey B Miller, of Pennsylvania police, said Roberts told his wife, in a final conversation before killing himself, that he wanted "revenge" for something that happened 20 years ago.

"He was angry, angry at God," Miller said, adding that Roberts "was equipped for a lengthy siege."

Roberts, who was not Amish, had dropped off his own three children for school before heading to the small schoolhouse in Nickel Mines to carry out the shooting.

His wife Marie Roberts said in a statement: "Our hearts are broken, our lives are shattered, and we grieve for the innocence and lives that were lost."

US President George W. Bush was "deeply saddened and troubled" by the incident and has ordered his cabinet officials to find ways to help in the aftermath of recent school shootings, said Dana Perino, a White House spokeswoman.

It was the third fatal killing in a U.S. school in a week.

Last week a 16-year-old schoolgirl was killed when a gunman took six hostages at a Colorado school before opening fire and turning the gun on himself as police stormed a classroom.

On Friday, the principal of a Wisconsin high school was killed after being shot by a student.