Rosanna King, the young Pennsylvania woman who survived a tragic mass shooting in an Amish school back in 2006, has tragically passed away recently. She was only 6 years old when she was injured in the attack, leaving her permanently brain-damaged. The incident occurred at an Old Order Amish schoolhouse in Nickel Mines on October 2nd, 2006. Charles Carl Roberts IV, a non-Amish milk truck driver, held King and nine other girls hostage inside the one-room schoolhouse. He shot them all before taking his own life as authorities arrived at the scene.
Two of the young girls died immediately, while the eight others were rushed to different hospitals. Unfortunately, three more were pronounced dead upon arrival. Rosanna’s family made the heartbreaking decision to remove her from life support after two days and brought her back home to Paradise, Pennsylvania. The medical professionals did not expect her to survive past that point.
Miraculously, Rosanna defied expectations and lived for nearly 18 years, but she never regained the ability to walk, talk, or feed herself. She suffered frequent seizures, as reported by Lancaster Online. Despite these challenges, she was visited every week by Charles Roberts’ mother, Terri Roberts, who would read her the Bible and “Anne of Green Gables” books.
The Nickel Mines Amish community captured the nation’s attention when they publicly forgave and embraced the family of the gunman, with about 30 members attending his funeral to support his widow. Terri Roberts described Rosanna as an “amazing young woman,” while praising her family for their unwavering efforts to make life as good as possible for her.
Rosanna is survived by her parents and four siblings, along with several extended family members. Funeral services were held at the family’s home on Friday morning, with Rosanna being laid to rest in the Bart Amish Cemetery in Georgetown, where other victims of the Nickel Mines shooting are buried.
Sadly, nearly 18 years after Rosanna King and her peers were targeted by a gunman, school shootings continue to be a prevalent issue in the United States. Just one day after Rosanna’s passing, another tragic incident occurred at Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia, where a gunman killed four people – two teachers and two students.
