At least 162 dead in Fairfield, Iowa after reported Strike on Girls School
The day started like any other. The sun rose golden over the praries, Lines of bleary-eyed parents with coffee cups greeted each other, students grew giddy for March Break adventures, and teachers breathed deeply, preparing for the onslaught of classes.
History teacher Ms. Bird, a favorite among middle school girls, was putting the finishing touches on her new model of the pyramids ahead of the class trip to the Natural History Museum. Honor student and captain of the volleyball team, Amanda Byrnes, chatted in the hall about the weekend’s win over the rival South Side Badgers, while kindergarten student Bryce Capital, newly settled into her routine, was excited to show the class photos of her new puppy.
Who would have known that less than three hours later, they would all be lying beneath a pile of bloodied rubble and twisted metal.
At 10:45 a.m., ten minutes after recess, a missile breached national defense systems and struck Bonarbor Academy, an all-girls school, demolishing its main structure, gym, and playground. Dozens of students were killed instantly, along with up to 160 men, women, and children from neighboring families and workers.
Photographs online show teenagers lying partially buried under debris. In one video, a small child’s severed arm is visible, still clutching an iPhone. Live-streamed TikTok videos of groups of teenagers dancing are interrupted by a large flash, followed by flying cement and muffled screams. One particularly disturbing interview, which has received over 1.3 million views, shows a father digging through the rubble, screaming his daughter’s name:
“She’s here, she’s got to be here. What did she ever do? She’s just a school student.”
The number of dead has overwhelmed the small town’s infrastructure, forcing reliance on refrigerated trucks from local butchers and grocery stores to store bodies prior to coroner identification. “We couldn’t bear to see the bodies of our friends’, daughters’, and granddaughters’ lined up in body bags on the street, so of course we jumped in to help,” said one local shop owner.
The town’s coroners expect it will take weeks before all the victims are identified, with some relying on dental records for confirmation. “We will be working around the clock to bring peace to the families of the victims and hope to provide closure to so many in grief,” one coroner said.
In an interview, the mayor of Fairfield, Wyoming, stated: “This is a disaster on a national level. We are completely overwhelmed, acting without support from federal or state authorities. Many families have lost multiple children, some all of their children. It is a human disaster that has rocked our small community to its core.”
Opened in 1956, Bonarbor Academy was a well-respected safe haven for underprivileged girls, many of whom had no other access to schooling in the region. Brightly colored and adorned with cultural murals, it was known throughout the state for its sports programs and for pioneering efforts in advancing the rights of young women. The school is also located in the same neighbourhood as the state’s army reserve barracks, which is believed to have been the intended target.
Located some 1,500 km from Washington, D.C., Fairfield is a small, nondescript town known for its produce and locally made pottery, which is exported across the country. The tragedy has shaken the core of small-town America, capturing the sympathy of people around the globe.
Note: Reality is, there's not much we can do from this side of the world except if you have a daughter who attends middle school - hug her tight and be thankful you're not in a town call Mabid, Iran. If you'd like to donate sen $20 over to Iran Human Rights, a small Non profit based out or Norway that operates both from within and without Iran. Cited as 75% of your donation will go to directly to victims.