On Jan. 4, 17-year-old Dylan Butler opened fire inside Perry High School in Perry, Iowa.
Butler, a student at the high school, used a pump-action shotgun and a small-caliber handgun to kill a sixth-grade student and wound seven other people. One of the seven, the school principal, later died of his wounds.
When authorities arrived shortly after the shooting began, they found Butler dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Here is everything you need to know about the tragic incident, how it unfolded and the people involved:
The Timeline
According to KCCI-TV, authorities received reports of an active shooter inside the high school at 7:37 a.m. on Thursday, Jan. 4, the first day back to school after the holiday break.
The initial wave of first responders arrived seven minutes later. They found Butler dead and subsequently disarmed an improvised explosive device. Federal agents from both the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were on the scene by 9:30.
In a separate report, KCCI spoke with parents who had rushed to the school.
Amber Ross, mother of a 12-year-old middle school student, explained where the shooting began.
“The middle school and the high school are connected by a hallway where the cafeterias are. The shooter was in the high school cafeteria hallway,” Ross said. “[My daughter] was in that hallway leaving. So it could have been her.”
Erica Jolliff heard from her daughter, a ninth-grader, at 7:45. One hour later, however, she still could not find her son Ahmir, a sixth-grader at the adjacent middle school.
“I just want to know that he’s safe and OK,” Jolliff said. “They won’t tell me nothing.”
At 11:30 a.m., an anonymous law enforcement official identified one of the victims as a school administrator, now known to be high school principal Dan Marburger.
Then, at 3:00 p.m., Mitch Mortvedt, assistant director of the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, announced that a sixth-grade student had died in the shooting.
According to the Des Moines Register, the next day — Friday, Jan. 5 — the Iowa Medical Examiner’s Office identified the deceased sixth-grader as 11-year-old Ahmir Jolliff, son of Erica. Ahmir died after suffering three gunshot wounds.
The Victims
Erica described her son as a happy child who enjoyed soccer, played the tuba and sang in the choir, according to The Associated Press. Those who knew him best called him “Smiley.”
On the morning of the shooting, Erica said “Smiley” had raced out of the house, eager to get to school.
When she arrived at the school after the shooting and found her daughter but could not find Ahmir, Erica sensed something awful had happened.
“I just had a feeling he was still in that building,” she said.
Then, in a heartbreaking gesture of Christian mercy, she expressed sympathy for the shooter’s family.
“We send our condolences to the family of Dylan; they’re in our prayers and we’re truly sorry for his loss as well,” the grieving mother said.
Meanwhile, according to The Associated Press, witnesses described Marburger as having acted to protect students.
Perry Superintendent Clark Wicks called the high school principal a “hero.” Wicks also praised middle school assistant principal Adam Jessen, who “carried a wounded student into a safe area.”
Tragically, the Perry Community School District announced that Marburger passed away on Sunday.
Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds of Iowa remembered the heroic principal in a statement.
“Our entire state is devastated by the news of Dan Marburger’s death. [First gentleman Kevin Reynolds] and I offer our deepest condolences to his wife and family as we pray for their comfort during this very difficult time,” the statement read.
“Dan courageously put himself in harm’s way to protect his students, and ultimately gave his own life to save them. He will forever be remembered for his selfless and heroic actions. May he rest in peace.”
The Shooter
According to the news site Heavy, the shooter’s parents, Jack and Erin Butler, are fixtures of the Perry community.
Since 2022, Jack has served as manager of the local airport. Erin has owned a small appraisal business and served on the city’s Planning and Zoning Commission. After the shooting, Dylan’s younger sister posted a “pray for Perry” image on Facebook.
As for the shooter himself, hazy bits of evidence portray a troubled teenager in severe pain.
According to the Mirror, Yesenia Roeder and Khamya Hall had known Dylan since elementary school. They described him as a target of bullying who was “hurting” and must have regarded it as the “last straw” when bullies began targeting his younger sister too.
Alas, Dylan’s social media accounts showed how troubled he really was.
On the morning of the shooting, according to the AP, Dylan snapped a photo of himself inside a high school bathroom and posted it to TikTok. A caption read, “Now we wait.” The photo was accompanied by the song “Stray Bullet” by the German band KMFDM.
Shortly after the shooting, the TikTok account was removed.
According to NBC News, however, “screenshots from Butler’s social media accounts, which have since been taken down, appear to display some LGBTQ symbolism, including rainbow and transgender flag emojis and an image of graffiti that says ‘LOVE YOUR TRANS KIDS.’”
NBC, of course, criticized “far-right figures” for noticing.
In a Sunday post on X, conservative commentator Colin Rugg alleged that Dylan used “he/they” pronouns.
Finally — and coincidentally — the shooting occurred with Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy in Perry to speak with voters ahead of the Iowa caucuses.
Ramaswamy canceled his campaign event but remained in town for prayer and discussion, according to the Mirror.
Last week, in response to a question from a voter, Ramaswamy called for at least three armed guards at every school.
Vivek Ramaswamy responds to an emotional question in the wake of the shooting at Perry High School:
“I think we need a minimum of 3 armed security guards in every school across this country.” pic.twitter.com/3XfodS94gH
— The Post Millennial (@TPostMillennial) January 11, 2024
