Perry Strong: Town calls for helping each other heal after shooting — and says it's begun

The pain is deep in Perry after a school shooting shook the community to its core, but residents say the healing has already begun.

And if there is a community anywhere that can pick itself up after such a tragedy, Perry is the one, they told the Des Moines Register.

By the next day, a number of fundraising efforts were already underway in the town of around 8,000 northwest of Des Moines.

“We learned a hard lesson on Thursday, that no place is immune (from violence), but it has brought this community together,” said Pastor Jon Williams of the First Methodist Church of Perry.

Gunfire that rang out just before the start of classes Thursday at Perry High School killed a sixth-grader, 11-year-old Ahmir Jolliff, and wounded four other students, Principal Dan Marburger and two other staff members. The 17-year-old shooter, identified by authorities as student Dylan Butler, died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Perry leaders say residents are stepping up to support one another after Iowa school shooting

Former Mayor John Andorf said the best thing for Perry now is for its residents to come together.

"Perry is a strong community," he said. "One of the things I like about Perry is when we do have tragedies or a crisis, people always pull together, and I know they will this time. It’s already started."

David Sheffer, owner of the Tin Pig Tavern in downtown Perry, was one of the residents who quickly swung into action following the tragedy on Thursday, taking sandwiches and beverages to the more than 100 law enforcement officers on scene at the high school.

“You could tell the situation was pretty grim," Sheffer said. "The officers showed no emotion when I delivered the food, but I did have one of them tell me that it was uplifting to know that people were thinking of them. I told them that if they needed anything, anything at all, to just text me.”

Sheffer and other businesses also took food to the hospital.

Sheffer said he started getting calls Thursday morning even before the media began reporting on the shooting, and his first concern was for the high school students who work for him. He started calling staff to make sure they were safe.

More: 11-year-old boy identified as victim in Perry High School shooting that wounded 8

Sheffer did not open the tavern on Thursday night but was torn about it. He had wanted to open to give people a place to go, but didn’t feel right taking money on such a tragic day, he said.

“I had some of my high school staff saying they wanted to work, but I thought it would be best for them to stay home with their families,” Sheffer said. Some of the students still “came in and just kind of hung out.”

He said Perry businesses are working together to assist the families of the shooting victims.

“The people of Perry are pretty tough," Sheffer said, but "it’s going to take a while."

More: One Perry shooting victim discharged from Des Moines hospital, trauma doctor confirms

Efforts underway to reach everyone in Perry's diverse community

Perry is one of the most ethnically diverse cities in Iowa, and the heart and soul of the community is on display every day in how immigrants from all over the world are welcomed, Williams said. The U.S. Census Bureau in 2022 estimated that 31.2% of the Perry population is Hispanic or Latino, and 9.3% are two or more races.

“We have people who come to Perry with literally just the clothes on their back, and we have programs to help them all to get established here," Williams said.

Because of Perry's diverse population, where some residents have limited English skills, “we are going to have to work extra hard to make sure we are getting our messages to everyone,” said newly elected Mayor Dirk Cavanaugh. The community has many translators and also receives assistance from Tyson Fresh Meats, the packing plant where many immigrants work, he said.

Cavanaugh said the city’s role will be to provide as much support as possible to the school district going forward.

As a result of lessons learned during the COVID pandemic, the schools can provide remote learning if some students are reluctant to return to school right away, Cavanaugh said.

Silviano Conelio, who speaks only Spanish, said through an interpreter that the school shooting left him feeling insecure.

“I would not expect this to happen in a small town," Conelio said through a translator. "I hope they put in metal detectors in the schools.”

Time is needed, Perry residents say, for healing, for asking tough questions about school shooting

Leaders and residents alike said the community needs time, to grieve, to be supportive of one another, to process what happened and to learn from it.

Andorf said the highest priority in these initial days is for individuals, families and the community as a whole to care for one another.

"What needs to happen in the immediate time frame is we all need to remain as strong as we can and support each other, hug each other — especially our family and our children," he said.

Down the road, the focus can turn to what led to the shooting and how such tragedies can be prevented, he said.

"Now is not a time to point fingers at who’s to blame or what could have been done, what should have been done," he said. Later, the community will "take time to sort out what may have occurred prior to this happening and how we can move on and work together to try and make sure it won’t happen again."

Two sisters, Yesenia Roeder Hall and Khamya Hall, both 17, told the Associated Press that Butler was their friend and that he had been bullied relentlessly since elementary school. More recently, his younger sister started getting picked on, too, they said.

Retirees and lifelong Perry residents Ken Cunningham and Doug Rayer said they hope that if bullying was a factor in the shooting, it gets addressed. Officials have not given a motive for the shooting.

“It was obviously a young man (the shooter) who had troubles, and you have to wonder if he tried to find help and couldn’t find it,” Cunningham said. “It’s going to be tough for kids to go back to school and see that empty seat. We have to trust that the school will be doing everything it can do to make it safe.”

Pastor sees spirituality as part of healing process

Williams said he was encouraged by the number of people who attended the many prayer vigils on Thursday night, which he saw as a start down the path toward healing.

“It seems like everyone attended at least one,” Williams said.

He said the “tragedy no one expects to happen in a small town” might help raise awareness of mental health issues and violence.

The Pastoral Association of Perry quickly swung into action and also received assistance from nearby pastors and congregations, he said.

“We are here for the resources people need, whether it's food, water or prayer," Williams said. "Our house is their house.”

Williams sees spirituality as important in helping the people of Perry move forward, which started with the prayer vigils.

“When a tragedy like this happens, people ask where was God when this happened," Williams said. "It’s important to us as clergy to help them understand that our God would never do this. He does not kill, steal or destroy. Our bishop’s message last night (Thursday) is that God’s light overcomes all darkness, and that is my message going forward, one of love, hope and comfort.”

Linda Andorf, president of the Perry Community School District board and wife of the former mayor, echoed the call for people to focus now on the present and coming together — and acknowledged that healing will take time.

"People may be feeling or saying, ‘I should have done more,’" she said. "Everybody did everything they could possibly do. And everybody was a part of keeping kids safe in a place where they should always be safe and never have fear.

"It’s going to take time, and it’s going to take everybody pulling and working together, which I know that they will do. … We will come out stronger on the other side.”

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This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Iowa school shooting: Perry residents say healing will take time