Perry, Iowa, High School Shooter Left Final Ominous TikTok Post, Reports Say

Dylan Butler was identified by authorities as the 17-year-old Perry (Iowa) High School shooter who left a trail of eight victims on January 4.

A 6th grader died, according to Mitch Mortvedt of the Iowa Department of Public Safety, speaking in a news conference. He said the other victims included four students and a school administrator, who are mostly in stable condition. One victim is in critical condition.

Mortvedt said authorities found an improvised explosive device, and Butler dead at the scene.

“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 a January 5 news 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.”

Perry is located about 40 miles northwest of Des Moines.

Shortly before the shooting, the TikTok user @tooktoomuch posted a selfie on TikTok with the caption, “now we wait.” It was set to a song called “Stray Bullet.” Daily Mail reported that WHO13 had identified this TikTok photo as Butler’s.

According to the Des Moines Register, the song “was used on the personal website of Eric Harris, one of the shooters of the Columbine High School massacre in 1999.”

Community residents commented on the TikTok thread. The page was taken down while Heavy was reviewing it. The photo showed a blue backpack on the floor. “Thank God my son wasn’t at school yet, but my niece/nephew/cousins were there,” wrote one woman. Another person wrote, “It’s hard to believe that someone would do this to all of us.” A woman wrote, “That was my brother, man.” The page contained multiple videos, screen captures of which are being circulated on X.

Heavy is working to verify Reddit pages that some people believe the gunman used. A Facebook page in the same name also mentioned the song “Stray Bullet,” according to posts on X, but is now deleted. Some social media posts erroneously gave the suspect’s name as Colby Butler. A Google cache of their story shows Daily Mail initially named the shooter as Colby Butler.

Here’s what you need to know:

1. Dylan Butler Shot the High School Principal, Dan Marburger, Who Was Praised for Acting ‘Selflessly’

TikTok (Dylan Butler)Dylan Butler TikTok.

The Iowa Department of Public Safety press release praised the wounded principal.

“A total of seven other individuals received wounds or injuries of varying degree during the shooting event, an increase of two from prior reports. Three of the victims are school staff members and four are students,” the press release.

“Perry High School Principal Dan Marburger has been identified as having suffered multiple gunshot wounds and remains in critical condition. The investigation thus far confirms Principal Marburger acted selflessly and placed himself in harm’s way in an apparent effort to protect his students. At this time, Principal Marburger and two students remain hospitalized. The remaining have been treated and released.”

Perry High School Principal Dan Marburger is among the victims, according to two teachers who spoke with The Des Moines Register.

“Two teachers said Dan Marburger, the principal of the high school, was shot,” the newspaper reported. Marburger’s condition is not clear. NBC News reported that patients are being treated at two different hospitals.

On his Facebook page, Marburger wrote that he is “High School Principal at Perry Community School District” and studied education at Central College. He went to East Central High School, lives in Perry, Iowa, and is from Sabula, Iowa.

In 2022, he wrote, “This morning I start year 28 at PHS. It has me thinking of all the great people I have started years with here and I miss now.” His profile picture shows his children.

2. The Suspect, a Senior at the School, Had 2 Firearms, Reports Say

Mortvedt said Butler had a pump action shotgun and handgun with him.

“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 news release said.

Daily Mail reported that the suspect was a senior at the school.

In a news conference, the Dallas County Sheriff Adam Infante said there were multiple victims at the high school but did not specify a number. He said that police were at the scene in seven minutes.

“There is no further danger to the public. The community is safe,” Infante said. “We’re just now working backwards, trying to figure out everything that happened and make notifications.”

CBS News reported that the shooter was a student.

Hospital officials told the Des Moines Register that they received two victims.

Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds wrote on X, “Our hearts are broken by this senseless tragedy. Our prayers are with the students, teachers & families of the Perry Community. I have been in contact with law enforcement agencies & am continuing to monitor the situation. I will be joining their press conference today.”

Rachael Kares, an 18-year-old senior, told the Des Moines Register that she heard four gunshots.

“We all just jumped,” Kares said to the newspaper. “My band teacher looked at us and yelled, ‘Run!’ So we ran.”

3. Dylan Butler’s Parents Are ‘Fixtures’ in the Perry Community

According to KCCI, Butler’s parents were well-known in the Perry community.

“Butler’s parents have been fixtures of the Perry community,”the site reported, adding that his father “is director of the city’s airport after serving as its public works director for years,” and his mother “has also owned a small business and served on a city development board.”

Kevin Shelley told the Des Moines Register that his 15-year-old son was “grazed by two bullets while in a school hallway” and saw the gunman shoot the principal. Shelley’s son suffered minor wounds.

In addition, Jody Kurth said her stepson was shot in the back and arm but is “doing really well,” ABC News reported.

“It was absolutely horrifying, that’s one of the worst moments of my entire life,” she said, according to ABC. “But the best phone call I got was saying that they were OK.”

This video on Facebook Live showed the shooting aftermath at the high school.

“Multiple law enforcement and medical staff are on site for a shooting at Perry High School. The site has been secured and the Dallas County Sheriff’s Office will release more information as it becomes available,” Dallas County, Iowa, wrote on its Facebook page. People offered prayers on the comment thread.

4. Controversy Erupted Online Over Comments Regarding Dylan Butler’s Identity

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According to NBC News, “screenshots from Butler’s social media accounts, which have since been taken down, appear to display some LGBTQ symbolism, including rainbow and transgender flag emojis and an image of graffiti that says ‘LOVE YOUR TRANS KIDS.'”

NBC News reported that X accounts run by Libs of TikTOk and Donald Trump Jr. highlighted the shooter’s possible identity.

X CEO Elon Musk wrote, “This is happening a lot. Something is deeply wrong.”

“Scapegoating is a very dangerous and old tactic for justifying the extreme marginalization of a specific group,” Gillian Branstter, a strategist for the American Civil Liberties Union, told NBC.

In the Dallas County Sheriff’s Department dispatch audio, obtained through Broadcastify, officers said there is a high-school age female with gunshot wounds to the head.

Authorities have not formally confirmed that report, though, and sometimes scanner reports can end up wrong. You can listen to the earliest dispatch reports above.

At one point, they discussed EMS helicopters landing near the football field.

5. The Gunman Was Found Down in the Hallway With a Possible Self-Inflicted Gunshot Wound

An officer also said at one point, “male subject down in the hallway — appears to be self-inflicted,” according to the Register.

The newspaper did not clarify whether this male was the suspect.

However, the Associated Press reported that the gunman died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. According to the AP, the shooting occurred as students returned from winter break for their first day of classes.

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