Multiple people were shot, one fatally, at a high school in Iowa on Jan. 4, law enforcement officials said.
Officers “located multiple gunshot victims,” Dallas County Sheriff Adam Infante told reporters outside Perry High School, where the shooting occurred. A sixth-grader was killed, Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation Assistant Director Mitch Mortvedt said.
Five other people were struck and were being treated at area hospitals.
One is a school administrator. Four are students.
Dylan Butler, 17, was identified by authorities as the person who opened fire.
Dylan used a shotgun and a handgun.
He died from a self-inflicted wound, Mr. Mortvedt said.
The shooting was reported at approximately 7:37 a.m. local time.
“School had not started yet, luckily, so there was very few faculty and students in the building, which I think contributed to a good outcome in that sense,” Mr. Infante said.
During a search of the building after the shooting, officers found an improvised explosive device, officials said. Officers rendered it safe.
Dallas County officials said earlier Thursday that “multiple law enforcement and medical staff are on site for a shooting at Perry High School” and that the site “has been secured.”
Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds told reporters that the actions of officers “saved lives.”
President Joe Biden was briefed on the shooting, White House officials said.
Perry High School senior Ava Augustus said she was in a counselor’s office, waiting for hers to arrive, when she heard three shots. She and other people barricaded the door, preparing to throw things if necessary, with a window being too small for an escape.
“And then we hear ‘He’s down. You can go out,’” Ava said through tears. ”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.”
Rachael Kares, an 18-year-old senior, was wrapping up jazz band practice when she and her bandmates heard what she described as four gunshots, spaced apart.
“We all just jumped,” Ms. Kares said. “My band teacher looked at us and yelled, ‘Run!’ So we ran.”
Ms. 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.
Vigils were planned Thursday evening at a park and a local church. A post on the high school’s Facebook page said it would be closed Friday, with counseling services planned at the public library on Friday and Saturday.
Perry is about 38 miles northwest of Des Moines. The population of Perry is about 8,000 people. There are about 1,785 students in schools in the city.
The shooting occurred in the backdrop of Iowa’s first-in-the-nation presidential caucuses. GOP candidate Vivek Ramaswamy had a campaign event scheduled in Perry at 9 a.m. about 1 1/2 miles (2.4 kilometers) from the high school but canceled it to have a prayer and intimate discussion with area residents.
As of July 2021, Iowa does not require a permit to purchase a handgun or carry a firearm in public, though it mandates a background check for a person buying a handgun without a permit.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
From The Epoch Times
