Remembering Pennsylvania’s deadliest school shooting 20 years later
BART TOWNSHIP, Pa. —
The Lancaster County community is reflecting on the 20th anniversary of the West Nickel Mines School shooting, the deadliest school shooting in Pennsylvania history.
The Oct. 2, 2006, attack at the one-room Amish schoolhouse initially claimed the lives of five girls and wounded five others.
A sixth victim later died in 2024 from injuries sustained during the shooting.
Below: Photos from the day of the shooting
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Grief remains two decades later
Earlier in 2026, a longtime spokesperson and friend of one of the affected families, Herman Bontrager, reflected on the grief that remains two decades later.
“Hearing these people talk about their pain still, 20 years later, and I know they loved their children like I love mine, so I think of that often,” Bontrager said.
He emphasized that supporting those affected does not always require finding the right words.
“The making it better happens by just being present and listening,” Bontrager said.
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Herman Bontrager reflects on the deadly school shooting
Memorials continue to grow
Memorials honoring the victims remain an important part of the community. Among them are five pear trees planted in remembrance of the girls who died shortly after the attack.
The trees continue to grow alongside a community that has spent the past 20 years grieving, remembering and healing.
First responders remember the call
New Holland Ambulance also marked the anniversary by honoring the victims, survivors, families and first responders affected by the tragedy.
New Holland EMS was among numerous emergency medical agencies and other first responders from across Lancaster County dispatched to the school that day.
“They came to work that day to help others, and many carried the weight of that call long after they returned home,” New Holland Ambulance said. “Twenty years later, the details of that day may fade with time, but the lives affected by it must never be forgotten.”