A 17-year-old boy killed a sixth-grader and wounded five other people on the shared high-school and middle-school campus in Perry, Iowa, on Thursday before taking his own life, police said.
Mitch Mortvedt, assistant director of the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, said suspect Dylan Butler posted about his plans on social media just before using a shotgun and a pistol to carry out his rampage.
The TikTok post showed Mr. Butler in a bathroom stall with a blue duffel bag and a caption that read “now we wait.” The teen’s social media accounts have since been taken down.
Mr. Mortvedt said authorities arrived on the scene and found Mr. Butler with what looked like a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head.
The surviving victims, Mr. Mortvedt said, included four students and a school administrator. He said one victim was in critical condition, but the injuries appeared to be non-life-threatening.
“Our hearts are heavy today and our prayers are with the Perry community,” Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds, a Republican, said at an afternoon press conference. “This senseless tragedy has shaken our entire state to the core.”
A spokesperson for the Iowa Methodist Medical Center in Des Moines told The Associated Press that three of the victims were rushed to their emergency room. The MercyOne Des Moines Medical Center also confirmed that some additional patients were being treated at its facility.
Des Moines, the state’s capital, is about 40 miles southeast of Perry.
Dallas County Sheriff Adam Infante said earlier Thursday that officers observed multiple gunshot victims minutes after the shooting was first reported around 7:35 a.m.
The gunfire created a chaotic scene around the only high school in the roughly 8,000-person town.
Kevin Shelley told the AP that his 15-year-old son Zander was grazed twice by bullets while he was waiting for class to start.
Mr. Shelley said his son ducked into a nearby classroom and texted his father what was happening. Mr. Shelley, a garbage truck driver, told his boss he had to go.
“It was the most scared I’ve been in my entire life,” the father said.
Senior Rachael Kares had finished wrapping up morning band practice when she heard the shots fired off.
“We all just jumped,” Ms. Kares told the AP. “My band teacher looked at us and yelled, ‘Run!’ So we ran.”
Ms. Kares, who is 18, said her only thought at the time was getting home to her 3-year-old son.
Parent Erica Jolliff told AP that her ninth-grade daughter was being moved from school grounds at 7:45 a.m. Ms. Jolliff said she was still waiting to confirm that her sixth-grade son, Amir, also made it off campus.
“I just want to know that he’s safe and OK,” Ms. Jolliff said. “They won’t tell me nothing.”
The shooting took place on the first day of school after the school system’s holiday break.
•This article is based in part on wire service reports.
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