Amish School Shooter's Brother to Direct Documentary

A group of filmmakers have teamed together to create a film that tells the chilling story of an armed gunman who walked into the one-room West Nickel Mines Amish School in 2006 killing five young schoolgirls and injuring five more before taking his own life.

Zachary Roberts is working as the director of a documentary entitled Hope in

Zachary Roberts
collaboration with Mexico86, a production company based in Stockholm, Sweden. The film seeks to tell the heartbreaking story of his oldest brother, Charles Roberts, and the families burden, grief and questions surrounding the event.

"The question of 'why' will be forever unanswered," said Roberts. "How does the mother of a mass murderer move forward in life?"

Roberts claims his initial reaction upon hearing about the actions of his brother was to distance himself from the tragic events of that day, but over time his heart was softened by the actions of his mother and the outreach of the community.

"For many years I didn't want to go back to Pennsylvania, but what eventually brought me back was my mother's strong desire to use her experience to help others and the display of forgiveness and support from the surrounding Amish community," said Roberts. "This created a context in which the families were able to heal together."

In the days that followed the massacre, Roberts recalls the overflowing Amish forgiveness that stunned the world.

"My mother, who had just recovered from cancer at the time of the incident, went
through the worst imaginable nightmare for a mother," said Roberts. "Somehow she

Terry Roberts
found the strength to get through it, helped by the forgiveness from families of the victims and with the help and support from the community who suffered from her son's actions."

The producers have turn to crowdfunding to reduce their dependence on traditional film interests. With a $120,000 projected budget, Hope will depict Robert's mother as she picked up the pieces after her son's senseless mass murder spree and suicide.

"We want people to know about our project and we also want to offer an opportunity to become involved."

Producers hope to have a full length feature completed by 2014. To view the trailer and learn more about the project go to www.indiegogo.com/projects/hope-documentary.

Source: Christian News Service

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