Police said that a 17-year-old suspect killed a sixth grader and wounded five others in a shooting early Thursday at a high school in the small town of Perry, Iowa.
The suspect was identified as Dylan Butler, a 17-year-old student at Perry high school, officials said at a news briefing on Thursday afternoon. He was found dead with an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound by responding officers.
Police also discovered an improvised explosive device when searching the high school, Mitch Mortvedt, an assistant director with the state department of criminal investigation, told reporters.
Members of the state fire marshal’s office and the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives rendered the device safe.
Four of the wounded victims are students, and the fifth is a school administrator, said Mortvedt, who declined to release any names. Another school district, Easton Valley Community, issued a statement saying it had received word that Dan Marburger, the high school principal, had been shot in the attack.
One victim was in critical condition but did not appear to be facing life-threatening injuries, Mortvedt said, while the other four were in stable condition.
The shooting came on the first day back in class at the school following the winter holiday break.
Perry, a town of about 7,900, is about 40 miles (64km) north-west of Des Moines, the state’s capital city. The attack took place just after 7.30am, before most students and faculty had entered the building.
The suspect was armed with a pump-action shotgun and a handgun, Mortvedt said, and had made a number of social media posts around the time of the shooting. The motive for the attack is under investigation.
Earlier on Thursday, Adam Infante, the sheriff of Dallas county, where Perry is located, told reporters there was no additional threat to students, staff or the public.
“There is no further danger to the public. The community is safe. We’re just now working backwards trying to figure out everything that happened,” he told a morning press conference at Perry high school.
“School didn’t start yet. Luckily, there were very few students and faculty in the building, which I think contributed to a good outcome in that sense.”
In a statement posted to X, Kim Reynolds, the Republican governor of Iowa, said she was on her way to the scene. “Our hearts are broken by this senseless tragedy. Our prayers are with the students, teachers & families of the Perry community,” she wrote.
“I have been in contact with law enforcement agencies and am continuing to monitor the situation. I will be joining their press conference today.”
Joe Biden has been briefed on the shooting and spoken with Reynolds, the White House said. Iowa’s two Republican senators, Chuck Grassley and Joni Ernst, also sent messages of support. (Guardian)