Iowa schools show solidarity with Perry High after school shooting leaves 11-year-old dead
At the end of a tragic Thursday, Perry residents joined in gatherings throughout the city of about 8,000 to mourn the victims of the high school shooting and support each other. Officials announced earlier in the afternoon that a sixth grade student was killed.
Four other students, the school's principal and two other staff members were injured. The 17-year-old shooter died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, police said.
Here's the latest on what we know:
Yesterday's Updates: Sixth grade student killed in Perry school shooting; five other victims shot
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Des Moines TV station Fox 17 running silent promo to raise funds for shooting victims
KDSM Fox 17 Des Moines will encourage community members to donate money to help the victims of the Perry school shooting in segments running during programming including NFL games.
Starting Saturday, the news station will run a five-second silent promo featuring a GoFundMe page created to benefit victims of the shooting, according to the station's vice president and general manager, Steve Rohrer.
"This is a starting point for us to help them out," Rohrer told the Des Moines Register Friday afternoon. "I want to see as many people pitching support for Perry in its time of need. It's a terrible tragedy and Iowans have come through in the past when others need help. And I believe they will do this again."
The commercial, which will feature a screen grab of a "Pray for Perry" post and direct viewers to search for Perry, Iowa, on GoFundMe, will appear over the next seven to 10 days, including times during the NFL games scheduled Jan. 7, Rohrer said. The promo will run strictly in Des Moines, though the station has been in touch with other partners.
Erin Owen, the creator of the GoFundMe page, Perry Iowa Community-School Shooting, says the promotion a way to reassure that the community, and Iowans, are there for each other.
"I couldn't have asked for anything more at this point," she said. "This community has had unfortunately some tragedy the last few years, but I think that this is now one of the more close-knit communities in central Iowa."
Owen is a central Iowa Realtor and is the administrator of the Perry Iowa Community Page on Facebook. She says the funds raised will go to victims and impacted members of the community and she will work with local organizations to distribute the funds.
The page as of Friday afternoon had raised about half of its $10,000 goal.
"I'll be honest, I'm hoping that we gain some traction here because these families are going to need a lot of help," Owen said.
Trump on shootings: 'It's just terrible'
At an Iowa Caucus event Friday night in Sioux Center, former President Donald Trump said: “Before we go any further, we want to send our support and deepest sympathies to the victims and families touched by the terrible school shooting yesterday in Perry, Iowa. To the entire community, we love you, we pray for you and we ask God to heal and comfort, really, the whole state. … We’re really with you as much as anybody can be. It’s a very terrible thing that happened. It's just terrible to see that happening. That’s just horrible. It’s so surprising to see it here. But we have to get over it. We have to move forward. But to all the relatives, and all the people who are devastated right now, to the point they can't breathe, they can’t live, we are with you all the way. And we love you and cherish you."
State identifies boy killed in shootings
The Iowa Department of Public Safety on Friday identified the boy killed in the Perry High School shootings as Ahmir Jolliff, 11. It said the boy had suffered three gunshot wounds.
On Thursday morning outside of the school, a distraught Erica Jolliff told a Des Moines Register reporter that she was still looking for her son, a sixth grader, one hour after her daughter, a ninth grader, had been rushed from the school grounds.
“I just want to know that he’s safe and OK,” Jolliff said. “They won’t tell me nothing.”
Reached Friday, she declined to comment.
The Department of Public Safety in a news release also confirmed that Perry High Principal Dan Marburger was among the wounded, and that, as his daughter Claire had posted on Facebook, he had "acted selflessly and placed himself in harm’s way in an apparent effort to protect his students." He was listed in critical condition.
Speaking in a Friday afternoon news conference, Perry schools Superintendent Clark Wicks called Marburger "a hero. And I know that it helped the way that he approached that situation and it saved some lives."
The department said the number of surviving victims had increased to seven from five, but that all but three ― Marburger and two students ― had been released from hospitals. Three of the victims are staff and four are students, the DCI said.
It said the investigation into Dylan Butler, the gunman, who took his own life, continues.
"Investigators have seized large volumes of digital and social media evidence that will take time to review," the news release said. "Background investigations, as well as eyewitness accounts and victim interviews, are continuing. Once the investigation is complete, the (Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation's) investigative report will be turned over to the Dallas County Attorney’s Office to determine what additional course of action, if any, should be undertaken."
Wicks in the news conference said he was unaware of a report that Butler had talked about getting into a shootout with police, and declined to discuss any school disciplinary record for the 17-year-old Perry student.
Iowa schools show solidarity with Perry High
Schools across metro Des Moines were making shows of solidarity with Perry High School.
At Des Moines Public Schools, electronic signs in front of school buildings read "Our Hearts Go Out to Perry #BlueJay Strong." And the Dallas Center-Grimes School District, next door to Perry, tweeted that its students and staff had dressed in blue on Friday, the Perry school color.
"We hope our sea of blue sends so many positive thoughts and well wishes to the Perry community," it read.
A posting on the Dallas Center-Grimes High School Facebook page said students had contacted Principal Travis Donahue on Thursday night, saying, "We want to wear blue to support our friends from Perry. Can we make this happen?"
"One email later, here we are," said the posting. "Close to 800 of us. All in blue. All sending so much love and support to our neighbors. #PerryStrong."
West Des Moines police arrest 18-year-old on terrorism charge over alleged Perry-related threat
West Des Moines police said Friday they had arrested an 18-year-old man who they alleged posted social media messages of support for the Perry High School shooter and made threats against local schools.
Arrested Thursday night, Lakeeve Arlley Fort was charged with a felony count of threat of terrorism and remained in the Polk County Jail on Friday afternoon.
The police said in a news release that the FBI assisted in their investigation.
They warned others against making similar postings.
"The West Des Moines Police Department would like to take this opportunity to remind anyone who engages in or considers making threatening comments of violence towards others in any fashion, will be held legally accountable for such actions," the police said in their news release.
They asked anyone aware of such comments to contact them or their local law enforcement agency.
Iowa agent confirms explosive device found at Perry High was shooter's
A rudimentary improvised explosive device found in Perry High School near the scene of Thursday's shootings was put there by the gunman, Ron Humphrey, a special agent with the Iowa State Fire Marshal's Office, confirmed on Friday.
In a Thursday news conference, officials said the IED was found but didn't say whether it was linked to the shooter, Dylan Butler, 17, who took his own life following the shootings.
Agents from the fire marshal's office and federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives disassembled the device about 11 a.m. Thursday, Humphrey said.
Humphrey called it a "rudimentary" device, and said it was unclear how badly much damage it could have caused had it exploded.
"It's hard to say with these things," Humphrey said. "I don't like to speculate."
'Pray for Perry' appears in Facebook profiles
In a show of solidarity for those affected by the Perry High School shootings, some Facebook users are changing their profile pictures to a banner that reads "Pray for Perry." The blue background reflects the school's colors and team name, the Bluejays.
March for Our Lives Iowa planning statewide school walkout over Perry High shootings
The Iowa chapter of the student-led March For Our Lives gun violence prevention program is calling for a statewide school walkout on Monday in reaction to the shootings at Perry High School.
The organizers say they expect participants to gather at 1 p.m. at the Iowa Capitol in Des Moines.
Iowa lawmakers have “historically opposed common-sense gun laws” that could have prevented Thursday’s shootings and other incidents, the organizers said in a news release.
"Tomorrow the governor is going to work with a huge security staff of Iowa State Patrolmen all there to protect her life,” the news release says. “And tomorrow I will be going to school with no such protection, no such luxury, no such sense of safety. Iowa children deserve the same luxury that our Governor has. We hope that this tragedy serves as a wake-up call to Iowa legislators to the prevalence of gun violence within the state of Iowa.”
The group staged a march to the Capitol in 2022.
Sandy Hook Promise cites Perry shootings in 'urgent call for action'
Officials with Sandy Hook Promise, a nonprofit founded in the wake of the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre, are citing the Perry High School shooting as they put out what they term an “urgent call for action to prevent gun violence and ensure schools are safe havens for students, not battleground.”
In a news release Friday, Nicole Hockley, co-founder and CEO of Sandy Hook Promise, called Perry a reminder of Ameica's gun violence epidemic and said research shows that “real solutions” for preventing it include students and adults understanding warning signs and taking action, and fostering an inclusive and kind school community.
Hockley’s son Dylan was one of 26 people who died in the shootings at the school in Newtown, Connecticut.
“For those who are asking what can be done to stop school shootings from happening, there are tangible actions that will protect our students and make sure schools remain safe places,” Hockley said.
The news release calls for policies to keep weapons out of the hands of “unauthorized users and those who may be a danger to themselves or others.”
“As presidential candidates continue to campaign in Iowa, we urge them and all elected officials to prioritize sensible solutions to gun violence that protect students in schools and put an end to this public health crisis afflicting our country,” said Mark Barden, co-founder and CEO of Sandy Hook Promise Action Fund and also the parent of a Sandy Hook victim.
Wounded Perry principal's alma mater sends condolences
In a Facebook posting, the Easton Valley Community School District asking for 'thoughts and prayers" for one of its alumni, Perry High School Principal Dan Marburger, who was wounded in Thursday's shootings at the school. A native of Sabula, in eastern Iowa on the Mississippi River, Marburger graduated from East Central High School in Miles before a district merger.
"Our hearts break to hear of this kind of violence that affects so many people, including many in our community," the posting said. "Our thoughts will also be with the entire Perry community as they grieve through this traumatic event."
Teams to wear blue to support Perry
At least one Des Moines metro school district will be making a show of support for Perry High School in Friday night's games. The Tigers of the Adel-Desoto-Minburn ADM district are calling for their fans "to wear blue in support of the Perry community" when their basketball teams play Winterset High School tonight.
Perry's teams are the Bluejays and Jayettes.
In addition, the district fundraising organization ADM After Prom says it will be accepting donations at the games to support Perry.
Daughter says Perry High principal approached shooter, distracted him long enough to allow students to escape cafeteria
Perry High School principal Dan Marburger is stable after spending most of Thursday in surgery, his daughter, Claire Marburger wrote in a post on Facebook on Thursday night.
Claire Marburger said her dad is a "gentle giant" who "brought a sense of calm and reassurance" to those around him.
"It is absolutely zero surprise to hear he tried to approach and talk Dylan down and distract him long enough for some students to get out of the cafeteria," she wrote. "That’s just Dad."
She also asked for people to show grace to Dylan Butler's family writing that "we are not our kids' mistakes and actions or our parents' mistakes and actions."
GOP candidate Nikki Haley says no to gun control
At the start of a CNN town hall Thursday night, Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley expressed sympathy for the victims of the school shooting earlier in the day in Perry.
Seeking the nomination of a party that believes in gun rights, Haley also said the solution is to address mental health, not more gun control.
"We have got to deal with the cancer that is mental health," Haley said.
The Democratic National Committee, meanwhile, denounced Haley as a Trump-like candidate who "dodged answering for her anti-choice agenda and her support for election deniers." A DNC statement also said she "found new ways to prove her MAGA bona fides by callously siding with the gun lobby over the safety of America’s children."
How to help the victims and their families
Victims, families and the community may all need some assistance after tragedies like this. We've gathered together resources for counseling, support and other ways to help those affected.
More: Here's how you can help the victims and families from the Perry school shooting
'Glass everywhere,' 'blood on the floor': Inside Perry High School as a shooter rampaged
Just before the morning bell rang, urging students along to class on their first day back from winter break, the hallways of Perry High School were pierced by the staccato pops of six to seven gunshots, a sound all too familiar in the corridors of American schools.
Then came the dashed off texts to parents. “Shooting.” “Shooter.” “I Love you.” Teachers ushered students into classrooms to shelter in place.
Some six hours later, law enforcement revealed a fuller picture of the horror inside the school: A fellow student, 17-year-old Dylan Butler, had come to school that morning armed with a pump action shotgun, a small-caliber handgun and a rudimentary explosive device. He posted a selfie in a bathroom stall just before the rampage, writing in the caption “now we wait.”
Read more: What it was like inside Perry High school as the shooting occured
Teachers, students share first-hand accounts of Perry shooting during Thursday night vigils
Ryan Burger, a computer teacher at the high school, told of ushering his students out of the school as the gunshots began.
Burger said teachers routinely go through training to prepare for such emergencies, but that while he was ready for it physically, he wasn't emotionally.
"Every time we had professional development time, we'd be going through this stuff, you never imagine it could happen," he said at a vigil at New Day Assembly of God.
What we know: Answering your questions about the Perry High School shooting
Kylee Hochstetler never made it to school. She was running late when someone called her mother to alert her to the violence.
Kylee, 13, said she saw drones and helicopters overhead, and police officers holding "giant" guns.
"Perry's such a small, and such a nice community that I thought, 'Oh, this won't happen," she said. "Basically everybody knows each other and they all are super nice to each other. So when I saw this going on, I'm like, 'I never saw this coming.'"
At a candlelight vigil at the city's Wiese Park, Bonnie Ikerd, a lifelong resident of Perry, said the prayers would need to continue long past Thursday.
Read more from the vigils: Perry community gatherings bring solace to grieving town, "tonight, we are all Perry strong"
“We just have to stay tight and make sure that we understand that we’re all in this together, but we also have to keep praying for the victims and their families,” she said. “It’s not just about today, let’s think about two, three months later. (We need) to be there for people.”
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Iowa schools show solidarity with Perry High School after mass shooting
