Perry High School shooter killed sixth-grade student, injured five others

A 17-year-old student of Perry High School, armed with a shotgun, handgun and a makeshift bomb, killed a sixth-grade student and injured five others Thursday morning before the start of the school day, according to state law enforcement officials.

The perpetrator was Dylan Butler, who fatally shot himself before local police officers arrived at the school, said Mitch Mortvedt, assistant director of the Division of Criminal Investigation, in an afternoon press conference.

The officers responded to a report of an active shooter at the high school about 7:37 a.m., where students of different grades gathered for breakfast.

The officers found students and school employees fleeing or hiding, along with several people with gunshot wounds, Mortvedt said.

“Officers immediately attempted to locate the source of the threat and quickly found what appeared to be the shooter with a self-inflicted gunshot wound,” he said.

He said Butler had a pump-action shotgun and a small-caliber handgun. Officers also found a “rudimentary” bomb, which was disabled by state officials and did not explode.

“All evidence thus far suggests that Butler acted alone,” Mortvedt said. Investigators are reviewing social media posts made by Butler about the time of the shootings.

“It’s impossible to understand why anything like this happens,” Gov. Kim Reynolds said at the news conference. “But again, I want you to know that we’ll work tirelessly to get the answers so that we can prevent it from happening again.”

The victims included five students and one school administrator. A sixth-grade Perry Middle School student died, but the five other victims are expected to survive. Mortvedt said most of them are in stable condition and one has critical, non-life-threatening injuries. None of the victims’ names were released at the afternoon news briefing.

“All of our condolences to the victims and their families,” Perry Police Chief Eric Vaughn said, as he choked with emotion. “They need your thoughts and prayers as well as time and space to process and grieve.”