Police investigate fatal shooting at Iowa high school

Iowa officials confirm one student is dead and five other people were injured from a shooting on Thursday morning at Perry High School near Des Moines, Iowa. During an afternoon press conference, assistant director of the Iowa Department of Public Safety’s Division of Criminal Investigation Mitch Mortvedt identified the alleged shooter as Dylan Butler, a 17-year-old student. Mortvedt confirmed Butler was dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound and was armed with a pump action shotgun and a small caliber handgun. Law enforcement members also searched the school and found a rudimentary improvised explosive device, or IED, which they safely disarmed. One sixth-grade student was found dead. Four students and one administrator were hospitalized for gunshot wounds.

How did the shooting unfold? Law enforcement got a call of an active shooting around 7:30 a.m. The first officer arrived on the scene just seven minutes later. One student said he heard the gunshots and saw people running, and immediately thought it was a prank. Another saw shattered glass and blood on the floor while evacuating the building. Only a few students and faculty were in the building because it was the school’s first day back after winter break, according to police. Mortvedt also said police are investigating several social media posts Butler made around the time of the rampage.

Dig deeper: Read Lauren Dunn’s report in WORLD Magazine on families of school shooting victims lobbying for gun control.