A teenager armed with a shotgun and a handgun killed one pupil and wounded five other people at an Iowa high school on the first day of classes in the new year, US authorities said.
People took shelter in classrooms, barricaded offices and fled the barrage of bullets fired by the suspect, a 17-year-old pupil at the school in Perry, who died of what investigators believe was a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Perry High School principal Dan Marburger was among the five who were injured on Thursday as students returned from their winter break, authorities said.
He was wounded while trying to protect students from the attacker, police said.
In a Facebook post later that day, Mr Marburger’s daughter said he was in “surgery all day, and is currently stable”.
Claire Marburger called her father a “gentle giant” who would want more attention on the other victims and their families, and less on himself.
The victim, a sixth grader (aged 11-12), has not yet been named.
The shooter was identified as Dylan Butler by authorities, but no information was provided about a possible motive.
Two friends and their mother who spoke with The Associated Press said Butler was a quiet person who had been bullied for years.
Authorities said Butler had a pump-action shotgun and a small-calibre handgun.
Mitch Mortvedt, the state investigation division’s assistant director, said during a news conference that authorities also found a “pretty rudimentary” improvised explosive device and rendered it safe.
The suspect’s motive was being investigated and authorities were looking into “a number of social media posts” he made around the time of the shooting, Mr Mortvedt added.
A law enforcement official said federal and state investigators were interviewing Butler’s friends and analysing his social media profiles, including posts on TikTok and Reddit.
Shortly before Thursday’s shooting, Butler posted a photo on TikTok inside a toilet at Perry High School, the official said.
The photo was captioned “now we wait” and the song Stray Bullet by the German band KMFDM accompanied it.
Investigators also found other photos Butler posted posing with firearms, according to the official.
Sisters Yesenia Roeder and Khamya Hall, both 17, said alongside their mother, Alita, that Butler had been bullied relentlessly since elementary school, but matters escalated recently when his younger sister was picked on, too.
His parents brought the matter up with the school, they said, and that was the “last straw” for Butler.
I have ordered all flags to be lowered to half staff in support of the Perry community.
This senseless tragedy has shaken our entire state to its core. I want this community to know that every Iowan stands with you.https://t.co/gCLpf9idW1— Gov. Kim Reynolds (@IAGovernor) January 4, 2024
“He was hurting. He got tired. He got tired of the bullying. He got tired of the harassment,” Yesenia Roeder Hall said. “Was it a smart idea to shoot up the school? No. God, no.”
Perry High School senior pupil Ava Augustus was awaiting a counsellor in a school office when she heard three shots. Unable to flee through a small window, she and others barricaded the door and were ready to throw things at the assailant, if necessary.
She said: “And then we hear: ‘He’s down. You can go out.’
“And I run and you can just see glass everywhere, blood on the floor. I get to my car and they’re taking a girl out of the auditorium who had been shot in her leg.”
Three gunshot victims were treated at Iowa Methodist Medical Centre in Des Moines, a spokesperson said.
Others were taken to a second hospital.
Mr Mortvedt said one person was in a critical condition, but the injuries did not appear to be life-threatening, and the others are stable.
Hundreds of people gathered for a candlelight prayer vigil on Thursday evening at a local park where, hours earlier, pupils had been brought to reunite with their families after the shooting.
Bundled up against freezing temperatures, they listened to pastors from many faiths and heard a message of hope in both English and Spanish.
A post on the high school’s Facebook page said it would be closed on Friday and counselling services would be available for pupils, faculty staff and others in the community.
Governor Kim Reynolds said: “This senseless tragedy has shaken our entire state to its core.”
In Washington, US President Joe Biden and US attorney general Merrick Garland were briefed on the shooting.
