Multiple people were shot at a high school in Perry, Iowa, Thursday morning, including the school’s principal.
The shooting reportedly began at approximately 7:37 a.m. and ended when the shooter turned the gun on himself.
The gunman, an apparent LGBTQ advocate, died of what investigators believe was a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
There was a heavy police presence seen at the school, which is about 40 miles northwest of downtown Des Moines, the Des Moines Register reported.
BREAKING🚨: Shooting with multiple victims reported at Perry High School in Perry, Iowa pic.twitter.com/9jiEUkvFbc
— Officer Lew (@officer_Lew) January 4, 2024
Streets for several blocks were barricaded, dozens of law enforcement from across central Iowa were on scene and a medical helicopter was seen landing at the school at about 8:30 a.m.
Parents started arriving at about 8:50 a.m. to find their students.
Perry has a population of about 8,000 residents. The high school is part of the 1,785-student Perry Community School District. The middle school is in the same building. Thursday was the first day back in school for students following the holiday break.
Perry High School Principal Dan Marburger is among the victims of the shooting. The father of a 15-year-old who was “grazed by two bullets while in a school hallway” told the Des Moines Register that his son saw the gunman shoot the principal. The boy reportedly suffered only minor injuries.
Iowa’s Governor Kim Reynolds wrote on X, “Our hearts are broken by this senseless tragedy. Our prayers are with the students, teachers & families of the Perry Community. I have been in contact with law enforcement agencies & am continuing to monitor the situation. I will be joining their press conference today.”
The Daily Mail identified the shooter as Dylan Butler, a senior at Perry High School.
Butler appeared to be an LGBTQ advocate on social media and identified as “genderfluid.”
He was allegedly active on TikTok under the account name “tooktoomuch,” which features a female anime character and a rainbow pride flag.
That account has been deleted, but not before social media users grabbed some of his last posts. MMA Fighter “Malcolm FleX” shared some of the posts on X.
The most recent 2 videos on the possible shooter's page will not load now. Maybe TikTok suppressing: pic.twitter.com/lLT9eXGBAc
— Malcolm Fle𝕏 (@Malcolm_fleX48) January 4, 2024
Butler’s last post appeared to be in the bathroom of the school with the caption, “now we wait.” The TikTok video was posted with the song “Stray Bullet” playing in the background, the Daily Mail reported.
https://twitter.com/Malcolm_fleX48/status/1742943883934289977
The Daily Mail reported that local news outlet WHO13 had identified this TikTok photo as Butler’s.
Conservative influencers Collin Rugg and Libs of TikTok shared additional material from Butler’s TikTok account. In one of his posts, he used the hashtag #genderfluid. Another post featured graffiti that said “love your trans kids.”
https://twitter.com/CollinRugg/status/1742973960789344341
Another image from the Iowa shooter’s now deleted tiktok account says “love your trans kids.” Watch this story disappear. pic.twitter.com/Nwp4YHMCPj
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) January 4, 2024