Perry High School, Perry, Iowa
A sixth grade student was killed and four other students and school administrator was injured when a lone shooter opening fire earlier today Perry High School in Iowa, according to numerous online sources.
The child who died was a student at Perry Middle School, according to Mitch Mortvedt, assistant director of the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation.
Mortvedt said one of the injured victims was in critical condition, but that their injuries “appeared to be non-life-threatening.”
Some news outlets are reporting that, based on the content of some social media pages — including a TikTok page that has since been removed — the suspected shooter was a member of the LGBTQ community and apparently identified as trans nonbinary. Those outlets noted that these reports have not yet been confirmed by investigators.
The shooting happened before school started, but there was a breakfast program in progress at the high school, and there may have been students from several different grades in the school for that program.
According to NBCNews.com, “A teenage student appears to have acted alone and died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound after opening fire, officials said.”
The suspected shooter has been identified as Dylan Butler, 17, and Mortvedt said Butler was armed with a pump action shotgun and a small caliber handgun. Mortvedt said investigators also found a “rudimentary” explosive device at the scene.
A TikTok page believed to have been Butler’s included a selfie taken in what looks like a bathroom stall moments before the shooting took place. The image included the caption “now we wait,” and shows a blue duffel bag on the floor.
— Tammye Nash
