Bush To Hold Summit On Ending School Violence

President Bush promised yesterday to take action to prevent violent attacks in America's schools after the third shooting in six days.

The White House said Mr. Bush was "troubled" by the deaths of the girls in the Amish schoolroom and had called a summit next week to discuss how the federal government can crack down on the violence.

The meeting of law enforcement, Cabinet, and education officials was hastily convened as the rising death toll from Monday's bloodbath in Pennsylvania took to nine the number killed in school shootings in less than a week.

Last Wednesday, a 53-year-old homeless man took six girls hostage at a high school in Bailey, Colo., and sexually assaulted them before killing a 16-year-old and committing suicide. Two days later, a 15-year-old student entered a rural Wisconsin school and shot dead the principal.

The conference will focus on possible federal action that could help communities prevent killings and violence and deal with the aftermath.