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Iowa DHS says Perry High School shooter acted alone and 'desired to be famous'

Iowa Department of Public Safety Commissioner Stephan Bayens said the teenage shooter who attacked Perry High School on January 4, 2024, acted alone and "desired to be famous"
Natalie Krebs
/
Iowa Public Radio
Iowa Department of Public Safety Commissioner Stephan Bayens said the teenage shooter who attacked Perry High School on January 4, 2024, acted alone and "desired to be famous"

The Iowa Department of Public Safety says the 17-year-old student responsible for the Perry High School shooting acted alone and with suicidal intentions.

Perry High School student Dylan Butler fatally shot sixth grade student Ahmir Jolliff and injured seven others, including Principal Dan Marburger, who later died of his injuries, on Jan. 4, 2024.

Iowa DPS Commissioner Stephan Bayens told reporters Oct. 18 that law enforcement believes Butler acted alone and did not target anyone specifically.

"We recovered writings from the shooter, who indicated just that he desired to be famous. He desired to commit suicide, desired to take others with him," he said.

The attack happened in the morning of the first day after winter break, before the school day had started and when there were just a few students and faculty members in the school building. It lasted less than five minutes and ended when Butler died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Students, faculty and first responders acted "heroically" to quickly get people to safety, Bayens said.

He praised Vice Principal Brad Snowgren, who activated the school safety radio within ten seconds while "actively avoiding gunfire," Perry Police Officer Micaela Zagar, the first officer to enter the school within minutes of the first shots, and Principal Dan Marburger, who continued to engage with Butler even after he had been shot.

"Each time Principal Marburger called that name out and diverted that attention, it bought those students another two seconds, another three seconds, another five seconds," he said.

Butler used a pump-action shotgun that police think he took from "a large gun collection within the extended family" without the owner's knowledge, Bayens said.

He also had a revolver during the attack that he didn't use, which had been purchased by his father and was "unsecured in the family home," he said.

Bayens said these findings have been turned over to the Dallas County Sheriff's office, which will determine whether to file any charges against family members.

Law enforcement determined some people, including friends and people online, knew Butler had a "significant fascination" with violence and school shootings, but they don't believe anyone knew he was planning the January attack.

"There were individuals that knew information that should have generated concerns," Bayens said. "It should have elevated those concerns to the point of contacting law enforcement, school officials or someone else."

Bayens stressed that family, friends and those around people who seem like they could be a danger to their schools or the community need to contact authorities who can address the threat level.

"I am okay with apologizing for a misunderstanding. What I am not okay with is standing in front of a mom who just lost their son or daughter to school violence," he said.

But going through all the reports of troubling behavior, which can average up to five reports a day, can be mentally and physically exhausting for officers, he said. The vast majority are hoaxes and cries for help.

"The best way I can kind of liken it is at times it feels like, if you have a pile of tinder, and you have 100 people running with matches towards it, and you're trying to figure out which one is serious and which one is just pretending, but you got to try to blow all of them out," Bayens said.

Natalie Krebs is IPR's Health Reporter and collaborator with Side Effects Public Media. Krebs has expertise covering health news and issues, including maternal health and rural health care access. She's covered abortion access and women's health care in Iowa and the Midwest, news from Iowa's state health agencies, and medical care and health concerns for elders. Krebs is a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin.