You might be interested to see how these events were covered in other countries. This is a report from my morning paper. (Melbourne, Oz.) :
Amish lay children to rest
The funeral procession for Naomi Rose Ebersol makes its way through Georgetown.
Photo: AP
October 6, 2006 - 6:54AM
Amish families streamed down closed roads in a mournful parade of horse-drawn buggies today, to bury schoolgirl victims of the Pennsylvania shootings which wracked their peaceable community.
As four of the five young girls killed on Monday were laid to rest, tales of selfless heroism emerged of one victim who reportedly asked killer Charles Roberts to "shoot me first," to save her classmates.
And the grief looked set to deepen, as US media reports said one critically wounded schoolgirl had been taken off life support in hospital and brought back to her spartan Pennsylvania home to die.
The reclusive Amish sect, which disdains trappings of the modern world, turned in on itself, as hundreds of mourners gathered at simple funeral rites for each child.
Each girl was to be buried in a plain pine coffin, using no metal in accordance with the Amish belief that all human remains should return to dust.
The dead were dressed by female relatives in plain white dresses, and laid out at home in open caskets as mourners arrived to pay respects, said Rita Rhodes, a local midwife who delivered two of the victims.
Those laid to rest today were Marian Fisher, 13, Naomi Rose Ebersole, seven; Mary Liz Miller, eight, and her seven-year-old sister, Lena, who all died in the simple one-room schoolhouse before Roberts turned the gun on himself.
Police sealed off roads leading into the small town of Nickel Mines. There was also a no-fly zone to stop media helicopters buzzing overhead. ...... <cont.>
http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2006/10/06/1159641490704.html?page=fullpage#contentSwap1