City of Perry/TikTok (Dylan Butler) Jack Butler, Dylan Butler's father. On right, Dylan Butler.
Jack and Erin Butler, the parents of Perry High School shooter Dylan Butler, are well-known members of the Iowa community. Both have held public positions; his father is the director of the Perry Airport and his mother was a member of the local Planning and Zoning Commission.
That’s according to the couple’s joint Facebook page and old news articles in the Des Moines Register and Perry News.
According to KCCI, Butler’s parents “have been fixtures of the Perry community.”
Butler opened fire inside the high school, killing an 11-year-old boy. Seven other people were wounded in the attack, according to a January 5 press release from the Iowa Department of Public Safety.
“The deceased Perry Middle School student has been identified as eleven-year-old Ahmir Jolliff. Ahmir’s cause of death was determined to be multiple gunshot wounds, 3 in total, and his manner of death has been ruled a homicide,” the Iowa Department of Public Safety wrote in the release. “The deceased shooter was confirmed to be seventeen-year-old Dylan Butler. Butler’s cause of death was determined to be from a self-inflicted gunshot wound and his manner of death has been ruled a suicide.”
Here’s what you need to know:
Jack Butler, Dylan Butler’s Father, Is Director of the City’s Airport
Facebook (Perry Chamber of Commerce)Jack Butler.
According to KCCI, Butler’s father “is director of the city’s airport after serving as its public works director for years.”
The Des Moines Register ran an article in 2022 announcing Jack Butler’s appointment as airport manager. “Butler comes to the airport with more than 23 years of public works experience,” the Register reported.
“I am looking forward to my new role as the airport manager and creating relationships with the tenants and visitors. One of my goals is to get fly-ins regularly scheduled and engage the community with the airport through regular events such as concerts, air shows or movie nights,” Jack Butler told the Register at the time.
“Mr. Butler’s experience demonstrates strong leadership, project management skills, as well as a focus on positively engaging with the community,” said Perry City Administrator Sven Peterson to The Perry News. “The Perry Airport Commission and I are very excited for Jack to take this key role in helping the Perry Municipal Airport continue to grow and thrive.”
A family obit says that Jack’s dad, Joe Wayne Butler, was in the Iowa Air National Guard and worked for Oscar Mayer for years.
Erin Butler, Dylan Butler’s Mother, Is a Small Business Owner Who Served on a City Board
Facebook (Erin and Jack Butler)Dylan Butler with his parents and sister.
KCCI reported that Erin Butler “has also owned a small business and served on a city board.” The couple’s Facebook page also says, “Owner/Appraiser at Butler Appraisals, LLC.”
A 2017 article in Perry News reported that “Appraiser Erin Butler, owner of Butler Appraisals, recently stopped by the Hotel Pattee to visit with the Perry Kiwanis at their weekly luncheon meeting and explain some of the finer points of property appraisal.”
The article noted: “Butler said she has been an appraiser since 2009. She started out working for a company in Des Moines and then ventured out on her own. Not only did the challenge appeal to her, she said, but she also liked setting her own schedule.”
The article mentioned her children, saying, “She is married and has two children who also require a lot of time and attention.”
In 2019, Erin Butler was listed by Perry News as a member of the “Perry Planning and Zoning Commission.”
The parents’ have a joint Facebook page in the name “Erin Jack Butler.” The profile reads, “Airport Manager at City of Perry, Iowa.” It adds, “Former Public Works Director at City of Perry, Iowa.”
The page contains photos of Dylan Butler and the couple’s daughter.
His sister posted a “pray for Perry” graphic on her Facebook page. Heavy is not linking to her page because she appears to be a juvenile.
Dylan Butler Posed Online With Guns & Posted a Song Used by the Columbine School Shooters
TikTok (Dylan Butler)Dylan Butler TikTok
Heavy reviewed a TikTok page attributed to Dylan Butler before it was taken down. He posted a final TikTok showing a selfie taken with a bag in the background on the ground. The song with the post was “stray bullet.”
The caption read, “Now we wait.”
According to the Register, that song “infamously was used on the personal website of Eric Harris, one of the shooters of the Columbine High School massacre in 1999.”
The Register reported that “investigators also have found other photos Butler posted of himself posing with firearms.,” the
“The investigation is ongoing. Investigators have seized large volumes of digital and social media evidence that will take time to review. Background investigations, as well as eyewitness accounts and victim interviews, are continuing. Once the investigation is complete, the DCI’s investigative report will be turned over to the Dallas County Attorney’s Office to determine what additional course of action, if any, should be undertaken,” the Iowa Department of Public Safety’s press release says.
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