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Last Updated: Tuesday October 03 2006 10:57 GMT

Pupils die in US school shooting

The school where the shooting happened

Five girls have died and several other children have been badly hurt in a shooting at a school in America.

A man entered the small one-room school in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania armed with three guns.

Emergency services were called but sadly three children died before police could enter the building. Two more later died in hospital.

The gunman then killed himself. Police said he was 32-year-old Charles Carl Roberts IV who lived nearby.

The attack happened at a very small school for children aged 6-13 in a village called Paradise, near Nickel Mines.

Six of the girls who were injured are still very ill in hospital.

Afterwards a local resident said: "It's just a shock, I think everyone's in shock. It's just hard to understand."

Peaceful community

Pupils at the school came from a group of people known as the Amish. They are a religious community who are very against violence. They live a simple life and rarely use things like cars or electricity.

The gunman was not from the Amish community and is thought to have chosen the school because it was close to where he lived.

While this is a very sad event it's important to remember that it's very rare and you shouldn't be worried.

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