'Tonight, we are all Perry strong': Community gatherings bring solace to grieving town
The Perry community came together Thursday evening, just hours after police said a 17-year-old shot six people at the high school before he killed himself.
Vigils were held in the evening at churches, a factory and in a park to mourn the violence, which left a sixth-grader dead. The shooting happened at about 7:37 a.m., 20 minutes before the first day of school after winter break was supposed to start.
Here are scenes from the gatherings.
Progressive Foundry
Tea lights lined tables as Perry students, families and community members gathered for an informal prayer service and meal at the Progressive Foundry factory.
Around 80 were already seated around 4 p.m. More kept coming, with more than 100 on hand by the time the service and meal started.
Jackson VanKirk, vice president of sales for the foundry, credited the gathering to his wife, Maddie, who he said told him they should do something for the community.
“I said, ‘What are we going to do?’ She said, 'Maybe we’ll have the kids over and just have some food,' and it started from there,” VanKirk said. “We called Hy-Vee (for the food) and boy, everybody has chipped in. I’m shocked that this many people have come already.”
Sebastian Robles, a senior at Perry High School, was chatting with some of his classmates while waiting for the meal to begin. The first day back at school from winter break had not turned out at all like he expected.
“I woke up this morning and took a shower, tried to look a little decent for the first day back. I was thinking it would be a good day and I woke up to this,” Robles said.
He had just walked into the high school when the shooting happened.
“It just caught me off guard. I was heading in and that’s when I heard the first three shots go off,” Robles said. “I was confused, I didn’t take a second chance to think about it, I just left.”
He ran out the door back to his truck and saw others following.
“I sat there and thought about it for a minute and then Mrs. (Tina) Lutterman came out and said, ‘There’s a shooter in the school, get out of here.’ I just went straight home,” he said.
Zoey Vail, a fellow high school senior, wasn’t at the school yet when the shooting happened.
“You always think about it, but in Perry, Iowa, having a school shooting incident? It’s just crazy to think about,” she said.
More: Here's how you can help the victims and families from the Perry school shooting
Vail was happy to see everyone gathering Thursday afternoon.
“Over the last year and a half, we’ve had a ton of tragedy and I think our community has been as close-knit as it’s ever been,” she said. “This sprung up out of nowhere (at Progressive Foundry) and to have food for everyone, it shows how good of a community we have. And to have a ton of other vigils tonight, I think we’re having an outpouring of support from all over Iowa.”
That was the goal, VanKirk said: to have a place for the community to gather.
“Our whole deal was we wanted a place for people and kids specifically, to come and just be together because no one wants to be alone right now,” he added.
While it had been a hard day, VanKirk was glad to see so many coming together to support the school district and the community.
“I love this town, it’s the best town in the whole world. I knew Perry would be there for itself, we’ve gone through this before and we’ll find a way through,” he said.
Crossroads Church
Iowa State Rep. Ako Abdul-Samad of Des Moines joined the crowd of Perry residents in the sanctuary at the end of a tough, sad day, sharing his story about losing his own son to gun violence.
He led them in a call-and-response prayer as they repeated his words: "But together, we will heal with our pain. Together, we will stand. Together, because you are my brothers and my sisters, and we are a family, in this, together."
“This is a sign for us now to step up in this community ― to give us strength to be able to talk about the things that make us feel uncomfortable,” Abdul-Samad continued, touting messages of forgiveness and healing. “We may have to reach out to one another at a time where we don’t know how to give strength, to be able to love one another.”
U.S. Rep. Zach Nunn also spoke.
“Tonight, we are all Perry strong,” said the emotional Nunn, adding that tomorrow, everyone will wake up and realize there’s more work to be done.
New Day Assembly of God
Scattered through the church hall, people reached across round tables to hold hands with loved ones. A woman put her hand on a child's back as he bowed his head in prayer with folded hands. Another wiped her face with a tissue.
Gov. Kim Reynolds and U.S. Rep. Zach Nunn were there, taking seats close to the stage where church leaders led the congregation in prayer.
Those who'd been close to the day's tragedy told their stories, expressing disbelief.
Perry student Kylee Hochstetler, 13, said she and her family were running late for school on Thursday morning when a friend of her mother's called to alert them to the shooting.
The family quickly changed course to a nearby Pizza Hut to wait for further news, and for the roads to clear. Kylee said she saw drones and helicopters overhead, and police officers holding "giant" guns.
She said a friend at school went missing in the chaos, but reappeared that evening.
More: Shooting at Perry High School: What we know about victims, suspect so far
"I was freaking out like, 'Oh my god, hopefully he's OK.' Turns out he was fine," she said.
She said she was able to touch base with other friends, relieved to learn that most of them were alright.
"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.'"
Ryan Burger, a computer teacher at the high school, said he was in his classroom a few hundred feet from the shooting scene, when he heard a fire alarm followed by people yelling. He quickly gathered students to usher them out.
Then he heard what he thought were gunshots, "And once we got outside we realized what it was and that's when we went off premises instead," he said.
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. "It was just chaotic, 'Everybody get out.'"
He said he came to the vigil to be present for his students.
"God put me in this school ... because these kids need more love," he said. "Like it was mentioned in this church service, I'm feeling a lot for the victims of it, but also for the family of the perpetrator and that family needs to be prayed for."
Faith leaders dedicated prayers for teachers, the school staff, students and the families of the victims and shooter, as well as political leaders.
"You ask a question, 'Well, how can a loving God allow something like this to take place?' We live in a fallen world," said the Rev. Ryan Yates. "The only hope for Perry High School, the only hope for your friends, teenagers, the only hope for your sons and daughters, the only hope for your loved ones is God as love in your life."
Wiese Park
Candles flickered as hundreds gathered around the shelterhouse in Wiese Park Thursday evening.
Families stood bundled in blankets. Two students waved at each other as they passed while holding their candles; others wiped away tears.
The community prayer vigil was led in part by members of the Perry Ministerial Association. Father Litto Thomas of St. Patrick Catholic Church invited those gathered to hug their neighbors and then to join hands before he led them in prayer.
“Dear heavenly father, in this moment of collective grief, we come before you as a community seeking strength and healing. Our hearts are heavy and burdened, yet we gather here with open hearts knowing that in our unity, there is strength,” Thomas said. “Lord, help us to rise above the darkness that seeks to anger us. Instill within us the courage to face the challenges before us and to stand resilient in the face of adversity. May this vigil be a beacon of light illuminating the path toward healing and unity.”
His prayer was echoed by others who spoke during the vigil and led the crowd in song.
“Lord, we ask that your love be poured out on all who have been affected by today’s tragedy. We pray especially for the students and teachers and administrators that you be with them and their families, Lord, and that you give them your comfort and your peace,” said Kim Belken, the new pastor at Mt. Olivet Lutheran Church.
Kathy Benton, co-pastor with her husband Greg at New Day Assembly of God, urged the community to continue coming together to support one another.
“I want to encourage us as a community that even though these times are painful, they draw us together. Obviously, look how many people are here,” said Benton. “We want to honor those that are in major pain because of what has happened today. And I would just like to pray for all of us, that God would help draw us closer to him through these times.”
Bonnie Ikerd, a lifelong resident of Perry, said before the vigil began that the prayers need to continue long past Thursday.
“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.”
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This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Community gathers in support after Perry High School shootings
