Journalists from Philadelphia, New York, Los Angeles, Canada and the U.K. descended upon Bart Township, where Charles Carl Roberts, 32, opened fire in a Amish school, killing at least three and injuring seven.

Television cameras from major networks including NBC, CBS, ABC and CNN lined up around the scene of the tragedy, waiting to hear news from the authorities. Journalists in crisp suits wandered around the rural area with notebooks, approaching devastated locals with questions.

A resident of nearby Georgetown Road said the scene was “surreal.”

“Everyone knows this terrible thing happened,” she said, shaking her head. “The whole world knows.”

A concerned local named Albert Lesh said it’s not the first time Lancaster County made global news.

“Every time we do, it’s bad,” he said with a sigh. “Real bad. That’s what it seems like anyway.”

Every hour more journalists seemed to arrive. Many said they had a difficult time reaching the rural school, tucked away next to some cornfields. “We kept gettin’ lost,” said Jeffrey Butler, a freelance photographer from Scotland.

He was parked outside the Wawa on Lincoln Highway East Monday afternoon, waiting for his partner to come out of the store with directions to White Oak Road. “We saw ambulances shootin’ through traffic, and we tried followin’, but we lost ’em,” he said, shrugging. “It’s been a mad rush getting here. Everyone’s shocked that a shootin’ like that could happen in a small Amish town. When I first heard the assignment, I almost didn’t believe it.”

People from all over the world have been e-mailing Lancaster Newspapers Inc., expressing their grief and concern over the shootings that ended with Roberts committing suicide.

“I am used to hearing about killings everyday around the world, but not something like this,” Tiffany Green of Georgia wrote. “I think what happened was very evil and I am very saddened by what happened.”

Shane Woods of Queensland, Australia, wrote, “News this morning of the shootings has shocked us and greatly upset my wife.”

Daniel Oster of Strasburg said he found out about the shootings by turning on CNN Monday morning.

“I thought, ‘Oh no, this can’t be good.’ And it wasn’t,” he said. “Usually when Lancaster County’s in the news, it isn’t.”

In the past two years, the county has received widespread news coverage for the following incidents:

• April 9, 2006 — Leola resident kills five family members.
  
  Jesse D. Wise, 21, was accused of killing six of his family members and plotting to kill his grandfather.
  
  He was accused of killing his cousins, Skyler Wise, 19, and Chance Wise, 5; his uncle, Jesse James Wise, 17; his aunts, Wanda Wise, 45, and Agnes Arlene Wise, 43; and his grandmother, 64-year-old Emily Wise.
  
  The victims died sometime during the weekend of April 8 and 9 inside their Leola home, police said.



• Nov. 13, 2005 — Teenager David G. Ludwig murders girlfriend’s parents.
  
  David Ludwig, 19, shot Michael and Cathryn Borden inside their home at 15 Royal Drive, Warwick Township, because they objected to his dating their 14-year-old daughter, Kara Beth.
  
  Ludwig and Kara Beth fled together after the shootings and eluded authorities for about 28 hours before being arrested in Indiana.
  
  In June, Ludwig pleaded guilty to double murder in the Nov. 13, 2005, slayings.



• September, 2006 — Cyclist Floyd Landis is found guilty of doping after Tour de France victory.
  
  Floyd Landis, a Farmersville native, became the first champion in the 103-year history of the Tour de France to lose his title due to doping.
  
  Urine tests were taken July 20 following Landis’ Stage 17 victory during the Alpine leg, when he regained nearly eight minutes on leader Oscar Pereiro. Landis’ “A” and “B” samples turned up a ratio of testosterone to epitestosterone of 11:1 — far in excess of the 4:1 limit.

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Some residents said they find such attention unnerving.

Lori Gail Watson, who lives just 10 minutes from West Nickel Mines School, said she saw six of her friends and neighbors being interviewed by reporters. “It’s a frenzy,” she said. “And it’s kind of scary to see so many strangers wandering around, asking questions about those lovely children that were killed. “But when something like that shooting happens, the whole world is moved,” Watson said. “At least people want to know what happened, and they seem to care. “That’s the only consolation I can find in a situation like this,” she said. “It’s not much, but that’s all I have right now.” blog comments powered by Disqus