Police say 6th-grader killed, 5 injured by 17-year-old in Iowa school shooting: Updates

DES MOINES, Iowa — A sixth-grader was killed and five other people were injured when a gunman opened fire at a high school in Perry, Iowa, on Thursday. Officials said the gunman was also dead of what appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

During a news conference, Dallas County Sheriff Adam Infante said the shooting was first reported at 7:37 a.m., shortly before classes at Perry High School were set to begin. Deputies were on the scene within seven minutes.

The five people injured included four students and an administrator, according to Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation Assistant Director Mitch Mortvedt. Four were stable, and one was in critical condition but was expected to survive, Mortvedt said.

Officials didn't identify the student victims in the attack. The school administrator was later identified by his alma mater as Perry High School Principal Dan Marburger.

Mortvedt said the suspect, identified as Dylan Butler, 17, was a student at Perry High School. Butler was armed with a pump-action shotgun and a small-caliber handgun, Mortvedt said.

Police also found a "pretty rudimentary" improvised explosive device in the school, which was rendered safe by the state fire marshal and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Mortvedt said.

“There is no further danger to the public. The community is safe,” Infante said earlier Thursday. “We’re just now working backward trying to figure out everything that happened and make notifications."

UnityPoint Health officials confirmed two gunshot victims from Perry High School were transported via ambulance to Iowa Methodist Medical Center in Des Moines, about 40 miles southeast of Perry.

Perry is a city along the North Raccoon River with a population of about 7,836, according to the 2020 Census.

Thursday was the first day back for Perry Community School District's more than 1,700 students after the annual winter break, according to the district calendar. The high school and middle school share a building. Mortvedt said there appeared to be a breakfast function happening at the high school that included students from other grade levels.

Developments:

∎ All families of the victims transported to Iowa Methodist Medical Center and MercyOne Des Moines Medical Center have been reunited, according to a statement by Polk County Healthcare Systems. Polk County health officials declined to share further details on the status of those patients.

∎ Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds, in a statement on X, said: "Our hearts are broken by this senseless tragedy. Our prayers are with the students, teachers & families of the Perry Community. I have been in contact with law enforcement agencies & am continuing to monitor the situation."

∎ LifeServe Blood Center, the main blood provider to hospitals in Dallas County, said in a statement that it's actively sending blood and blood products to Des Moines area medical facilities in response to the shooting. The organization urged people to donate blood at its locations throughout Dallas County.

∎ The shooting occurred ahead of the upcoming Iowa caucuses and not far from where Republican candidates were campaigning. Vivek Ramaswamy, a Republican candidate for president, wrote on X: "Pray for the community in Perry, Iowa this morning." Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley said, "No parent, student, or teacher should have to wake up and face news about a school shooting. My heart aches for the victims of Perry, Iowa and the entire community."

∎ Staff across all schools in the Perry Community School District have been released to go home, according to a message sent on the districtwide communications system. "Do not return to the building. More information will be available later," the text said.

Suspect posted on social media before shooting

The suspect in the Perry High School shooting posted a photo of himself on TikTok shortly before the shooting.

"Butler also made a number of social media posts in and around time of the shooting," Mortvedt said at a news conference Thursday. Investigators are looking into those posts as part of the investigation, he said.

The photo posted before the shooting appeared to be of him in a bathroom stall with a blue duffle bag by his feet. The caption read, "now we wait."

The TikTok post, which has since been taken down along with Butler's social media accounts, was accompanied by the song "Stray Bullet" by rock group KMFDM. The song infamously was used on the personal website of Eric Harris, one of the shooters of the Columbine High School massacre in 1999.

Butler had more than 250 followers before his account was shut down.

— José Mendiola, Des Moines Register

'It doesn’t seem real'

At the middle school, eighth-grader Aiden Tunink was eating breakfast in the cafeteria after a morning basketball scrimmage when he heard loud booms.

“One of his friends literally said, ‘Who’s beating on the table?’ Then they figured out what was going on,” Aiden’s mom, Andrea Tunink, told the Des Moines Register, part of the USA TODAY Network.

The lunchroom monitors started yelling, “You’ve got to go! You’ve got to go,” Aiden told his mom, and he and his friends ran out one of the back doors.

When he called his mom en route to the safety of a friend’s house in the neighborhood, he pleaded: Tell Maci ― his sister and a high school senior ― to stay away.

"He said, 'It doesn’t seem real. It doesn’t seem real,'" Andrea Tunink said.

Victim identified as Perry High School principal

Multiple witnesses also identified Marburger as the suspected school administrator who was injured in the shooting. Two teachers said Marburger was shot. A father also told the Des Moines Register that his son saw the principal get shot.

Marburger has worked in the Perry district for nearly 30 years. When he started work there in 1995, he told the local paper, “I always knew I’d be a teacher.”

Originally from Sabula, a hamlet on the shore of the Mississippi River, Marburger, was a graduate of East Central High School in Miles, Iowa, and got a degree in social studies education from Central College in 1989, as well as a master’s degree in educational administration from Drake University.

Easton Valley Community School District issued a statement about the shooting on Facebook.

"This morning our state is grieving after learning of a school shooting that took place at Perry High School. Sadly, we have also received information that one of our former East Central graduates, Dan Marburger, was one of the victims injured in the incident," the district said. "We have not confirmed the extent of his injuries so we wanted to send out a message asking for thoughts and prayers for him and his family."

— Phillip Sitter, Des Moines Register

Student recounts hearing gunshots, barricading a door

Ava Augustus, a senior at Perry High School, told the AP that she was in a counselor's office when she heard three shots ring out. She and others barricaded the door.

“And then we hear ‘He’s down. You can go out,’” Augustus said. ”And I run and you can just see glass everywhere, blood on the floor. I get to my car and they’re taking a girl out of the auditorium who had been shot in her leg.”

Gun control advocacy groups denounce school shooting

Brady United Against Gun Violence, one of the nations leading gun control advocacy groups, released a statement Thursday morning on X that said: "No child should fear gun violence, especially in a place that is supposed to be safe, like school."

"New year, same horror," said Kris Brown, the president of the nonprofit on social media. "On the first day of Perry High School’s 2024 semester, there is an active shooter. Schools should be for learning, and that doesn't mean learning how to dodge bullets."

Former Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, who survived being shot in 2011 and leads a gun control advocacy group, said that stronger gun laws prevent gun violence and that Iowa has "some of the weakest in the country."

"As kids were returning to school after break, a morning of reuniting with friends and teachers quickly turned to terror. Let’s be clear: students shouldn’t have to worry about being shot at school," Giffords said in a statement.

In 2023, the number of school shootings in the U.S. hit a record high for the second year in a row. There were 188 shootings with casualties at public and private elementary schools during the 2021-22 school year, according to new federal data. About two-thirds of them caused injuries; 57 led to deaths.

White House press secretary calls shooting 'senseless'

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said President Joe Biden is tracking the school shooting in Iowa. “Our hearts break for the families of the victims in yet another act of senseless gun violence,” she said.

White House staff have been in touch with the governor’s office, and federal officials are working with local law enforcement to support their investigation, Jean-Pierre said.

“It’s only the fourth day in the new year, and we are already faced with yet another horrific school shooting,” she said. “And the question we ask is `When will enough be enough?’... We cannot allow these tragedies to continue. We have to do something.”

– Michael Collins

Iowa lawmakers weigh in on school shooting in Perry

U.S. Rep. Zach Nunn, who represents Perry in Congress, said he was "beyond angry" about the shooting.

"My heart, and my commitment to holding those accountable, is with the community of Perry. We have a duty to protect our children, families, and educators," Nunn said in a statement. "I remain in touch with first responders and local leaders in Perry, and I will continue to monitor the situation closely. We will not rest until there is full accountability for this heinous act of violence."

State Sen. Pam Jochum, D-Dubuque, opened her remarks at a legislative forum Thursday morning by addressing the shooting.

"I want to start by just extending condolences to those in Perry, Iowa," Jochum said. "I know that we are still waiting for more details on what happened there, but I think I can speak for all the Democrats and actually everybody in the state of Iowa that our hearts go out to the families, whatever has occurred there. And we will wait for more detail on that as well."

Iowa's U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley wrote on social media Thursday that the "Perry community is strong" and pledged to help if additional federal resources were needed.

"Today's appalling violence at Perry HS is heartbreaking," Grassley wrote. "Barbara and I are grateful for quick response by school officials & law enforcement to protect students (and) restore safety."

Perry canceled classes Friday; vigils scheduled

The Perry Community School District canceled classes for Friday, according to its districtwide communication system. Counseling services were provided for students, faculty and others in the community.

Hundreds of community members gathered for a candlelight prayer vigil Thursday evening at a park where hours earlier, students had been dropped off to reunite with their families after the shooting. They listened to pastors from many faiths and heard a message of hope in both English and Spanish.

Other vigils were also scheduled on Thursday with church groups.

Student said she heard gunshots and ran

Rachael Kares, an 18-year-old senior, was wrapping up jazz band practice at 7:37 a.m. – she had just looked at her watch – when she and her bandmates heard what she described as four gunshots, spaced apart.

“We all just jumped,” Kares said. “My band teacher looked at us and yelled, ‘Run!’ So we ran.”

Kares and many others from the school ran out past the football field, as she heard people yelling, “Get out! Get out!” She said she heard additional shots as she ran, but didn’t know how many. She was more concerned about getting home to her 3-year-old son.

“At that moment I didn’t care about anything except getting out because I had to get home with my son,” she said.

Father says his son was injured in shooting

Kevin Shelley told the Des Moines Register that his son, Zander, 15, was grazed by two bullets while in a school hallway. He left the school at about 8:30 a.m. and went to his nearby home, Kevin Shelley said. He described his son's injuries as minor.

Kevin Shelley said his son said he saw an administrator get shot.

"My son was inside, said he heard gunshots and immediately started running," Kevin Shelley said. "They got into a classroom with a teacher that kept them hidden and safe."

Zander broke his glasses as he was running away, his father said.

Parents pick up students outside multiple area schools

Parents started arriving at about 8:50 a.m. to pick up students at the high school and neighboring middle and elementary schools.

City spokesperson Chris Cohea said the elementary school nearby was locked down and all students there are being kept in their rooms.

Erica Jolliff told the Associated Press that her daughter, a ninth grader, reported getting rushed from the school grounds at 7:45 am. Jolliff was still searching for her son Amir, a sixth grader, one hour later.

“I just want to know that he’s safe and OK,” Jolliff told the outlet. “They won’t tell me nothing.”

High school, middle school connected

The Perry Community School District is a rural public school district in Perry, Iowa, about 40 miles northwest of Des Moines. The district serves about 1,785 students, according to its website.

With only three schools, the district’s high school and middle school are connected, sitting on the east edge of town. Shared campuses or combined public middle schools and high schools are common in rural areas with districts that serve a small population.

In recent years, educators in large cities — such as Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and Jackson, Mississippi — have considered or moved towards combination middle-high schools as a way to strengthen enrollment and reduce budget deficits.

Advocates of combination middle-high schools say shared campuses create an easier transition for students and allow better access to facilities and amenities.

“When schools are combined, there is often a larger budget available for facility upgrades and improvements,” according to Save Our Schools March.

But critics have noted drawbacks to merging middle school and high school students in the same environment, citing social pressures and loss of a middle school environment.

“The age difference between middle and high school students can create a power dynamic that may lead to bullying or exclusion,” according to Save Our Schools March. “Additionally, the social expectations and behaviors of high school students may be more advanced than those of middle school students, which can create an uncomfortable environment for younger students.”

Contributing: Associated Press

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Iowa school shooting updates: 6th grader killed and 5 others injured