Iowa shooting: ‘Joyful’ 11-year-old victim mourned as bullying of Perry school gunman revealed
One dead, five injured, as students returned from winter break
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The Iowa school shooter who killed one sixth grader and injured five was bullied “relentlessly,” according to his former classmates.
Dylan Butler, 17, was named as the gunman who attacked Perry High School in Iowa on Thursday as students returned from their Christmas break.
His former classmates, sisters Yesenia Roeder and Khamya Hall, both 17, said that Butler had been bullied relentlessly since elementary school.
They added that the bullying had escalated recently, when his younger sister started getting picked on, too. Officials at the school didn’t intervene, they said, and that was “the last straw” for the shooter.
“He was hurting. He got tired. He got tired of the bullying. He got tired of the harassment,” Yesenia Roeder Hall said.
Police said 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, Des Moines Register reported.
Moments before the shooting, Butler, who was found dead at the scene, posted a video on TikTok captioned “now we wait” and the song “Stray Bullet” by the German band KMFDM accompanied it.
Ahmir Jolliff, the 11-year-old victim of the shooting, is remembered by family and friends as a joyful boy known as “Smiley” at home.
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11-year-old killed in Iowa school shooting remembered as a joyful boy who loved soccer and singing
President of gun control advocacy group laments that school shootings have already marred 2024
Kris Brown, the president of Brady, a group fighting to curb gun violence, released a statement on Thursday after news broke that a shooting had been reported at a high school in Perry, Iowa.
“New year, same horror. These students were returning to campus after their holiday break only to be met with gun violence that has uniquely plagued their generation. No child should have to hide in their classrooms fearing for their lives. No teacher should have to stand guard over their students potentially shielding them from bullets. No parent should have to fear that any day they send their child to school could be their last.“
“2024 should not start this way for the students of Perry High School or any student in our nation. Our hearts are with all the affected students, teachers, school staff, parents, and community members. This year – as with every year – we are resolved to end this deadly epidemic and free America from gun violence.”
ICYMI: White House Press Secretary said Joe Biden was ‘tracking’ the Iowa school shooting
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Joe Biden was “tracking” the school shooting that occurred in Iowa on Thursday morning.
“The President is tracking the tragic school shooting at Perry Middle and High School in in Iowa. Our hearts break for the families of the victims in yet another act of senseless gun violence,” she said.
Ms Jean-Pierre said that the White House had been in contact with Iowa’s governor and had offered any assistance it could provide with the investigation into the attack. She went on to lament that a school shooting had already occurred so early in 2024.
“It’s only the fourth day in the year in the new year and we are already faced with yet another horrific school shooting. And the question that we ask is when will enough be enough the questions that families ask and the victims of families ask is when will it be enough when will enough be enough?” she said. “Our students and teachers deserve to know that their schools are safe spaces and to focus on learning not duck and cover drills.”
She said Mr Biden had taken “historic action” to curb gun violence, but noted that “more must be done” to ensure the safety of students and the public at large.
“Congress must act to enact universal background checks, ban assault weapons and high capacity magazines require safe storage of firearms and the gun industry’s immunity from liability and pass a national Red Flag Law,” she said. “We cannot allow these tragedies to continue. We have to do something with that.”
Iowa shooter’s chilling last post before killing one and injuring 5
Police said the Iowa school shooter’s motive was being investigated and authorities were looking into “a number of social media posts” he made around the time of the shooting, Des Moines Register reported.
Shortly before the shooting, Dylan Butler, 17, who was found dead at the scene, posted a photo on TikTok captioned “now we wait” and the song “Stray Bullet” by the German band KMFDM accompanied it.
Investigators also found pictures of the 17-year-old posing with firearms posted on ios social media accounts.
Butler was named as the gunman who attacked Perry High School in Iowa on Thursday as students returned from their Christmas break, killing one sixth grader.
Butler was found dead at the scene with what police believe was a self-inflicted gunshot wound, an Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation official said.
Iowa student says he thought shooting was ‘prank’ at Perry High School
An Iowa student said he initially thought a shooting at Perry High School on Thursday, 4 January, was a “prank.”
The pupil, named Carlos, told NBC News he was outside the building when he heard bangs and saw children running for safety.
“One of our teachers started screaming at us and that’s how we knew it was serious,” he added.
One student died and five others were injured after a 17-year-old student opened fire on Thursday morning, around 7:37am local time.
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Iowa student says he thought shooting was ‘prank’ at Perry High School
An Iowa student said he initially thought a shooting at Perry High School on Thursday, 4 January, was a "prank." The pupil, named Carlos, told NBC News he was outside the building when he heard bangs and saw children running for safety. "One of our teachers started screaming at us and that's how we knew it was serious," he added. One student died and five others were injured after a 17-year-old student opened fire on Thursday morning, around 7:37am local time.
White House addresses ‘senseless’ Iowa school shooting: ‘When will enough be enough?’
Karine Jean-Pierre addressed Thursday morning’s school shooting in Iowa during her White House press conference.
She described the incident at Perry High School - located 40 miles northwest of the state capital Des Moines - as “tragic” and “senseless”.
The Dallas County sheriff said there were ‘multiple’ gunshot victims found at the school and the suspect has reportedly died.
“We’re just a couple of days into the new year and we’re talking about another shooting, and that is heart-wrenching and that is heart-breaking,” Ms Jean-Pierre told reporters.
“When will enough be enough?”
READ MORE:
White House addresses ‘senseless’ Iowa school shooting: ‘When will enough be enough?’
Karine Jean-Pierre addressed Thursday morning’s school shooting in Iowa during her White House press conference. She described the incident at Perry High School - located 40 miles northwest of the state capital Des Moines - as “tragic” and “senseless”. The Dallas County sheriff said there were ‘multiple’ gunshot victims found at the school and the suspect has reportedly died. “We’re just a couple of days into the new year and we’re talking about another shooting, and that is heart-wrenching and that is heart-breaking,” Ms Jean-Pierre told reporters. “When will enough be enough?”
WATCH: Law enforcement responds to Iowa school shooting on Thursday
‘It was the most scared I’ve been in my entire life’: Students and their parents recount terror of shooting
Zander Shelley, 15, was in a hallway when he heard gunshots and dashed into a classroom, according to his father, Kevin Shelley. Zander was grazed twice and hid in the classroom before texting his father at 7:36 a.m.
Kevin Shelley, who drives a garbage truck, told his boss he had to run. “It was the most scared I’ve been in my entire life,” he said.
Meanwhile, Amber Ross told CBC her daughter heard three gunshots come from the school’s cafeteria as she walked through a hallway that connects the cafeteria to the middle school.
“It could have been her,” she said through tears. Ms Ross said her daughter called her as the shots rung out, “I thought she was exaggerating,” she said. “I was like, ’no way, that couldn’t have happened, you guys just heard something.’ But no.
“She heard three gun shots that could have been pointed in her direction,” she added.
Rachael Kares, an 18-year-old senior, also described hearing gunshots. She was wrapping up jazz band practice when she and her bandmates heard what she described as four gunshots, spaced apart. “We all just jumped,” Kares said.
“My band teacher looked at us and yelled, ‘Run!’ So we ran.” Kares and many others from the school ran out past the football field, as she heard people yelling, “Get out! Get out!”
She said she was more concerned about getting home to her three-year-old son. “At that moment I didn’t care about anything except getting out because I had to get home with my son,” she said.
WATCH: Ron DeSantis dodges gun control question after Iowa school shooting
Iowa school shooter’s chilling final social media post revealed
Iowa police are now looking into “a number of social media posts” made by the teenager who unleashed terror on an Iowa high school on Thursday, killing one victim and injuring five.
Dylan Butler, 17, was named as the gunman who opened fire inside Perry High School in Iowa on Thursday as students returned from their Christmas break.
Butler, a former student at the school, was found dead on the scene. An Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation official said he died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
The teenager’s motive for the attack is now under investigation, with authorities looking into “a number of social media posts” he made around the time of the shooting, Des Moines Register reported.
Shortly before the shooting, Butler posted a final chilling photo on TikTok captioned: “Now we wait”.
READ MORE:
Iowa school shooter’s chilling final social media post revealed
Dylan Butler, 17, was named as the gunman who opened fire in Perry High School in Iowa on Thursday
Vivek Ramaswamy calls gun control ‘wrong approach’ and a ‘false hubris’ in wake of Iowa shooting
Vivek Ramaswamy has called gun control the “wrong approach” to tackling gun violence, instead blaming an “ailment at the heart and soul of our nation” just hours after a mass shooting at a school in Iowa.
On Thursday, a 17-year-old opened fire at Perry High School in Iowa, killing one sixth grader and injuring five others before officers found him dead at the scene.
Mr Ramaswamy was in Iowa that day for a campaign event, which he said was cancelled and converted into “prayer and open conversation”.
During that open conversation, Mr Ramaswamy denounced those who are calling for gun control measures, according to a video from Politico.
“You mark my words,” he said, “Tomorrow, if not later today, you’re going to hear calls for, ‘Stop the guns, that’s the problem,’ sweeping under the rug, this real ailment at the heart and soul of our nation and our culture that has spread to the entire next generation and to the unit of the family: The loss of purpose.”
READ MORE:
Vivek Ramaswamy calls gun control ‘wrong approach’ in wake of Iowa shooting
Vivek Ramaswamy said the United States has a ‘psychological sickness’ at its core