This article documents a current event. Information may change rapidly as the event progresses, and initial news reports may be unreliable. The latest updates to this article may not reflect the most current information. (January 2024) |
The Perry High School shooting was a school shooting that occurred on January 4, 2024, at Perry High school in Perry, Iowa, Iowa. Dylan Butler, a 17 year-old student at the high school, killed one other student and injured five others before committing suicide. It was the first school shooting of 2024.[1]
| Perry High School shooting | |
|---|---|
| Part of mass shootings in the United States and school shootings in the United States | |
| Location | Perry High School Perry, Iowa, U.S. |
| Coordinates | 41°50′23″N 94°04′50″W / 41.8398°N 94.08066°W |
| Date | January 4, 2024 c. 7:37 a.m. CST |
Attack type | School shooting, mass shooting, murder-suicide, pedicide |
| Weapon | |
| Deaths | 2 (including the perpetrator) |
| Injured | 5 |
| Perpetrator | Dylan "Colby" Butler |
Background
Perry High School and Perry Middle School are part of the Perry Community School District in Perry, Iowa. The two schools share a building, which are connected by a hallway adjacent to the cafeteria, where the shooting occurred.[2] The cafeteria hosts a breakfast program for all middle and high school students before school.
Shooting
Authorities were first alerted to the shooting at 7:37 a.m. local time, when middle and high school students are given breakfast before school. At 7:44 a.m., the first wave of first responders, including police officers, ambulances, and helicopters.[3] When police entered the school, which was sheltering-in-place, they found the perpetrator, later identified as 17-year-old Dylan Butler, who was armed with a pump-action shotgun and a small-caliber handgun, dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. In a later sweep of the school, police found an improvised explosive device, which was subsequently disarmed safely.[4][5] The middle school attached to the high school was cleared by 8:25 a.m., and the high school was evacuated by 8:27 a.m. A nearby elementary school was dismissed by 8:32 a.m.[6] By 9:27 a.m., it was confirmed that the FBI and the Kansas City division of the ATF were on the scene.[4] Later in the day, it was confirmed that a sixth-grade student at Perry Middle School was killed, and a group of four students and a principal, one of which is in critical condition, are being treated for their injuries. Authorities have not yet released more information about the victims or their identities.[4]
Perpetrator
Police identified the shooter as 17-year-old Dylan Butler, a Perry resident and student of Perry High School at the time of the shooting.[7][8] Butler's classmates and mother described him as being "a quiet person who had been bullied for years", and speculated that this "relentless" bullying could have been the motive behind the shooting. Butler's mother and sisters told the media that the "last straw" may have been school officials' failure to intervene when his younger sister began to be bullied as well. However, authorities have yet to officially state a motive for the shooting.[9] [3] Butler is reported to have made social media posts prior to the shooting, including a TikTok post from the now-deleted account @tooktoomuch showing him in a bathroom stall at the school with a large duffle bag, with the text "now we wait". The post was accompanied by the KMFDM song "Stray Bullet", which had previously received media attention due to its use on the personal website of Eric Harris, one of the perpetrators of the Columbine High School massacre.[8]
Reactions
Local and state education, police, and gun-related bodies and associations released statements supporting affected members of the community and sympathizing with the victims of and families affected by the shooting.
A statement from the White House press secretary called the shooting a "heartbreaking and heart-wrenching" event, calling on Congress to act against gun violence.
Several political figures, including Nikki Haley, Joni Ernst, Kim Reynolds, Zach Nunn, Chuck Grassley, Vivek Ramaswamy, Rita Hart, and Brenna Bird released statements or social media posts offering condolences to the victims of the attack.[10]
See also
References
- ^ Osborne, Mark; Margolin, Josh (January 4, 2024), At least 1 dead in shooting at Iowa high school; scene now 'secured': Officials, ABC News, retrieved January 4, 2024
- ^ Families recount terrifying moments from inside Perry High School during deadly shooting, KCCI, January 4, 2024, retrieved January 4, 2024
- ^ a b "Multiple people shot at Iowa high school on the first day after winter break, officials say", NBC News, NBC News, January 4, 2024, retrieved January 4, 2024
- ^ a b c "Dispatch recordings provide timeline of Iowa high school shooting", KETV, January 4, 2024
- ^ Tumin, Remy; Mather, Victor (January 4, 2024), "Sixth Grader Killed and 5 Others Injured in Iowa School Shooting", The New York Times, ISSN 0362-4331, retrieved January 4, 2024
- ^ "Multiple people shot at Iowa high school on the first day after winter break, officials say", NBC News, NBC News, January 4, 2024, retrieved January 4, 2024
- ^ Perry shooter identified as 17-year-old Dylan Butler, KCCI, January 4, 2024, retrieved January 4, 2024
- ^ a b 17-year-old Perry High School shooting suspect posted photo on TikTok before shooting, Des Moines Register, January 4, 2024, retrieved January 4, 2024
- ^ 17-year-old kills sixth grader, wounds five others in Iowa school shooting, police say, Associated Press, January 4, 2024, retrieved January 4, 2024
- ^ Iowa leaders, elected officials react to Perry High School shooting, KCCI, January 4, 2024, retrieved January 4, 2024
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