CV NEWS FEED // The Iowa diocese of Des Moines called for “all people of good will to pause and pray for the children, the parents, the educators” in response to a school shooting that took place on Thursday morning in Perry, Iowa.
Five people were injured and one sixth grade student was killed in a shooting at Perry High School on January 4, according to local news outlet Des Moines Register (DMR).
“Police did not identify the victims but the Register has confirmed Principal Dan Marburger as one of the victims who was shot,” DMR reported.
The Diocese of Des Moines responded in a statement on January 4:
Today we learned of a school shooting in our community of Perry, Iowa. We call on all people of good will to pause and pray for the children, the parents, the educators, the first responders, the medical staff and the entire community of Perry.
May God’s Spirit be with those directly affected by today’s tragic event and with all of us on this day of deep anguish and grief.
According to DMR, “the suspect, 17-year-old Perry High School student Dylan Butler, died from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound in the school, Assistant Director of the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation Mitch Mortvedt said at an afternoon news conference.”
“Police found an improvised explosive device in the school, which the Iowa State Fire Marshal disarmed,” DMR reported:
The suspect was armed with a pump action shotgun and a small-caliber handgun, [Mortvedt] said…
The shooting happened at the high school, which shares a building with the middle school. There was a breakfast program in the lunchroom so there may have been students from both schools there at the same time.
The police believed that Butler “acted alone,” and DMR added that “FBI agents from the Omaha-Des Moines office are assisting with the investigation led by the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation.”
