TRANSCRIPT
The small town of Perry, Iowa, in the mid-western United States has about 8,000 residents.
On the first day back after the winter holidays at the local high school, a 17-year old student from the school opened fire, killing a sixth-grader and wounding five others, including the school principal.
Mitch Mortvedt is the Assistant Director of the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation:
“The shooter has been identified as 17 year old Dylan Butler, a student at Perry High School. Butler was armed with a pump action shotgun and a small caliber handgun. Butler also made a number of social media posts in and around the time of the shooting. Law enforcement is working to secure those pieces of evidence. All evidence thus far suggests that Butler acted alone. There are six victims, one of them who is deceased. That individual was a sixth grade student at Perry Middle School. The other five are being treated at area hospitals. Four of the victims, surviving victims are students and the fifth is a school administrator.”
Assistant Director Mortvedt says Butler subsequently took his own life.
Iowa does not require a permit to purchase a handgun or carry a firearm in public, though it mandates a background check for a person buying a handgun without a permit.
Iowa's Governor, Kim Reynolds, promises the authorities will work to prevent anything like this happening again:
“Our hearts are heavy today and our prayers are with the Perry community. This strikes at the heart of everything that we hold dear. This senseless tragedy has shaken our entire state to the core. And I want this community to know that every Iowan stands with you. It's impossible to understand why anything like this happens. But again, I want you to know that we'll work tirelessly to get the answers so that we can prevent it from happening again.”
School student Yesenia Roeder Hall was a friend of Dylan Butler.
She says the shooting was out of character but that he was a victim of bullying and harassment.
“He was a good person. He was hurting. He got tired. He got tired of the bullying. He got tired of the harassment. Was it a smart idea to shoot up the school? No. God, no. And I am mad at him for that. Lord knows I am mad at him for that. But do I think he should have taken his own life? No.”
Another friend, Khamya Hall says they'd tried to help Butler.
“He was the kindest of person ever. He was there for us when we needed him. We tried to be there when he needed us, which clearly we weren't there for him enough.”
Just a few hours after the shooting, hundreds of people from the town gathered in the freezing cold for a prayer vigil.
Pastor Andrea Brownlee:
“Sustain us, Almighty God, through your Holy Spirit. Our trust is in you. Show us your unfailing love, rise up and provide strength as we face this unimaginable day together, Amen.”
Former student Andrea Niemeyer says the town is conscious of support from around the world.
“Know that even though we are tiny town, the whole world is wrapping its arms around us tonight. I personally have gotten messages from as far as Spokane, Washington, making sure that we are okay. And I know that the alumni are thinking of all of us tonight, praying for all of us, because we are Perry strong, Blue Jays strong, Iowa strong. We'll get through this because we have each other.”
Meanwhile at the White House, President Joe Biden's Press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre says Congress needs to take action and enact universal background checks, ban assault weapons and high capacity magazines, require safe storage of firearms, end the gun industry's immunity from liability and pass a national red flag law.
“While the president and this administration have taken historic action to reduce gun violence, more must be done to keep our schools and communities safe.”
