One sixth-grade student is dead and five people are injured after a shooting at a high school in Perry, Iowa, on Thursday morning. Four of the injured victims are students at the school, and one is the school’s 56-year-old principal, authorities said.
The Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation identified the gunman as 17-year-old Dylan Butler, a senior at Perry High School, who was found dead with a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Before opening fire just before sunrise, officers said, Butler had posted videos on social media. Several students have been sharing one of Butler’s posts on TikTok, which features him facing the camera in front of a blue duffel bag with the caption: “Now we wait.” While police declined to comment on any specific post, several of Butler’s classmates confirmed to The Washington Post that he was the person in the video.
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Police officers arrived at the scene “within minutes” and saw students and faculty sheltering in place and running for safety, said Mitch Mortvedt, assistant director at Iowa’s Division of Criminal Investigation. The entirety of the shooting took place before classes began but while a breakfast program was ongoing, which meant students attending other nearby schools were also present on campus at the time. The sixth-grade student that died attended Perry Middle School, Mortvedt said.
Officers secured the school and found an improvised explosive device, which they disposed of, and Butler’s weapons: a shotgun and a small-caliber handgun. Mortvedt declined to describe the makeshift bomb, but said it was “rudimentary.” Evidence suggests the gunman acted alone, Mortvedt said.
Authorities said that the shooter’s motives remain under investigation.
Here’s what to know
- Dylan Butler, 17, opened fire around 7:37 a.m. Central time while the school’s breakfast program was ongoing. Police said they responded within minutes. Butler “made a number of social media posts in and around the time of the shooting,” Mortvedt said.
- One victim is in critical but not life-threatening condition, and four others are in stable condition, authorities said. The victims were taken to area hospitals.
- Authorities did not name the victims, but the Easton Valley Community School District announced that Perry High School Principal Dan Marburger was among those injured. He has served as principal since 1995.
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