One student was killed and five others were injured after a shooter opened fire at Perry High School in Iowa on Thursday morning, January 4. The suspect, identified as a 17-year-old student at the high school, named Dylan Butler, then turned the gun on himself, according to Mitch Mortvedt, assistant director of the Iowa Department of Public Safety's Division of Criminal Investigation.
Among the shooting victims were five students. A six-grader died. Perry High School Principal Dan Marburger is believed to be among those who were shot, the Perry Community School Board and the Easton Valley School District confirmed, as per ABC News. While four victims were stable, one was believed to be in critical condition.
Who was Dylan Butler?
A family member of Butler claimed the shooter had endured relentless bullying since elementary school, and described him as a quiet person. Sisters Yesenia Roeder and Khamya Hall, both 17, as well as their mother Alita told the Associated Press that Butler lost his cool after his younger sister began to get bullied too. They said that the school officials failed to help, which was “the last straw” for him.
“He was hurting. He got tired. He got tired of the bullying. He got tired of the harassment,” Yesenia said. “Was it a smart idea to shoot up the school? No. God, no.”
{{/usCountry}}“He was hurting. He got tired. He got tired of the bullying. He got tired of the harassment,” Yesenia said. “Was it a smart idea to shoot up the school? No. God, no.”
{{/usCountry}}Khamya called Butler “the kindest person ever.” “He was there for us when we needed him, and we tried to be there when he needed us, which clearly we weren’t there for him enough,” she said.
Dylan Butler’s cryptic posts
Butler was carrying a pump-action shotgun and a small-calibre handgun. A "rudimentary" explosive device too was found in the school. Butler reportedly had plans to murder many others, but the shooting took place before the school day had started, and therefore there were not many students and staff in the building.
Butler, before the shooting, shared a TikTok of himself in what seemed like the school bathroom stall. “now we wait,” it was captioned. In the background, the song Stray Bullet by KMFDM played. The song has lyrics like “I’m your nightmare coming true, I am your worst enemy,” and “Stray bullet, from the barrel of love.” The song was also used on thepersonal website of Eric Harris, one of the shooters involved in the 1999 Columbine High School massacre.
There were more videos from the account posted to Reddit, one of which showed Butler emulating The Cook from the Texas Chainsaw Massacre, as well as notorious serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer. He was seen repeating lines and mannerisms from the shows.
Clips also showed Butler pointing a stick at a friend, pretending as though it was a gun. Photos of Butler gathered by investigators also reportedly showed him posing with firearms. It is unclear if the guns Butler used in the shooting belonged to him.