Gunman kills 5 US girls at Amish school

Police and emergency vehicles are seen parked at the scene of a shooting at a one room Amish schoolhouse Monday in Nickel Mines, Pennsylvania. A man entered the school, let the boys go free, tied up the girls and shot them execution style. At least five girls are dead and seven are injured. The gunman shot and killed himself. PHOTO: AFP

Eight other girls were wounded and CNN reported that one of them died several hours after the assault.

The heavily armed gunman, identified by authorities as Charles Carl Roberts, 32, had ordered the boys and some adults out of the classroom before opening fire on the girls.

Roberts, who was not Amish, had dropped his own three school-aged children at their bus stop in the morning, showing no sign of the rampage to come, Commissioner Jeffrey Miller of Pennsylvania state police said at a news conference.

But Roberts had left a rambling suicide note and letter to his wife and children, referring to an event 20 years ago for which he sought revenge, and he planned for a lengthy siege.