PERRY (Iowa, US), Jan 6 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A teenage gunman killed one fellow student and wounded five other people before killing himself during a shooting at a high school in the midwestern US state of Iowa, authorities said.
Among those injured by the 17-year-old shooter were four other students and a school administrator, said Mitch Mortvedt, assistant director of the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation
Five students were among the shooting victims, including a sixth grader who died, Mortvedt told reporters during a press briefing.
Perry High School Principal Dan Marburger was also among those shot, the Perry Community School Board and the Easton Valley School District confirmed.
One victim was in critical condition, while the other four were stable, Mortvedt said.
An active shooting incident was reported at approximately 7:37 a.m. local time, police said.
“Police officers responded within minutes. They immediately made entry and witnessed students and faculty either sheltering in place or running from the school,” Mortvedt said.
The suspected shooter — identified as 17-year-old Dylan Butler — was found dead with a pump-action shotgun and a small-caliber handgun, Mortvedt said.
A “rudimentary” explosive device was also located in the school and rendered safe, Mortvedt said.
The shooting occurred before the school day had started, and there were very few students and faculty in the building, “which I think contributed to a good outcome in that sense,” Dallas County Sheriff Adam Infante told reporters during an earlier press briefing.
“There is no further danger to the public. The community is safe,” Dallas County Sheriff Adam Infante told reporters during an earlier press briefing. “We’re just now working backwards, trying to figure out everything that happened and make notifications.”
Thursday was the first day of school back from the winter break. The school district will be closed on Friday, school officials said.
Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds said the “senseless tragedy has shaken our entire state to the core.”
“Our hearts are heavy today and our prayers are with the Perry community,” she said, ordering all flags in the state to be lowered at half-staff until sunset on Sunday.
President Joe Biden is monitoring the shooting, the White House said.
“Our hearts break for the families of the victims in yet another act of senseless gun violence,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters.
“It’s only the fourth day in the year, in the new year, and we are already faced with yet another horrific school shooting. And the question that we ask, is when will enough be enough?” she said. — NNN-AGENCIES
