Evil school shooter posted three chilling words on TikTok and had homemade bomb
A teen gunman who last night embarked on a bloody school shooting had posted three chilling words on TikTok and devised a homemade bomb.
Evil Dylan Butler has been identified as the shooter who killed a child and injured at least three others at last night - with videos on his TikTok account revealing he chose last words to be the chilling: "Now we wait."
The 17-year-old school shooter was armed with a pump action shotgun and a small calibre handgun. Officers also found a homemade explosive device at the scene, which was likely in the eerie blue duffel bag shown in Butler's fnal TikTok video, which he captioned with the three word phrase, as he made social media posts around the time of the attack.
Butler died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. He managed to kill one child student, a sixth grader who would have been just 11 to 12 years old, and injure five other people, including four students and the school's principal, Dan Marburger.
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Dylan Butler shown here on TikTok, in the last video he posted before killing himself and another studen (Dylan Butler/Tiktok)
Dylan Butler's social media was examined immediately by law enforcement (Tiktok)As police entered Perry High School, in Iowa, US, just after 7.30am local time, they found children and administrators sheltering in place, while others ran past the officers, fleeing the sounds of gunshots. Police found Butler dead from a self-inflicted wound inside the building.
Previously, on his now-deleted account @tooktoomuch, he posted videos of himself and a friend playing on playground equipment. In one video from December, he pretended to be in a gunfight with a stick and fell down a slide.
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A school shooting in Perry, Iowa today has brought a small town to a screeching halt as police locked down the surrounding schools for safety (AFP via Getty Images)The investigation into why this happened is still ongoing. "This senseless tragedy has shaken our entire state to the core," said Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds (R) at a press conference. 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," added Reynolds.
Police responded quickly to calls about a shooter at a local high school, but as they got there minutes later, the damage was already done (Getty Images)At a press conference, police revealed that 150 officers from local and state agencies were called in to help with the shooting. The high school and middle school are connected, and an elementary school five minutes away was also evacuated.
Two of the victims were reportedly flown to the Iowa Methodist Medical Centre in Des Moines, according to the Des Moines Register, but their condition is unknown. None of the victims, except for the principal, have been identified by officials.
Police responded quickly to calls about a shooter at a local high school, but as they got there minutes later, the damage was already done (Facebook)The Easton Valley Community School District in Iowa shared on Facebook that one of the victims was Dan Marburger, a graduate of the district and current Perry High School principal. "We have not confirmed the extent of his injuries so we wanted to send out a message asking for thoughts and prayers for him and his family. Dan has served as a principal for the Perry Community School District since 1995," the post read.
Dallas County Sheriff Adam Infante revealed at a press briefing that the radio call about the shooting started at 7.37am local time and that the authorities arrived on the scene just seven minutes later. He said it was fortunate that school hadn't started yet, as there could have been many more casualties. High school senior Ava Augustus reported she was in a counselor's office when she heard three shots. She and others barricaded the door, preparing to throw things if necessary, with a window being too small for an escape.
Police expressed their condolences to the family of the victim, as others survived due to the speed of law enforcment (No credit)By about 8.27am, the high school had been cleared out by the authorities, and the middle school and nearby elementary school were also evacuated around the same time.
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"Our hearts break to hear of this kind of violence that affects so many people, including many in our community. Our thoughts will also be with the entire Perry community as they grieve through this traumatic event," Easton Valley administrators shared on social media.
"And then we hear 'He's down. You can go out,'" Augustus said, crying. "And I run and you can just see glass everywhere, blood on the floor. I get to my car and they're taking a girl out of the auditorium who had been shot in her leg."
Students were returning to classes today following the holiday break (Getty Images)During a press conference, police revealed that 150 officers from local and state agencies were called in to help with the shooting. The high school and middle school are connected, and an elementary school that is five minutes away was evacuated along with the other two institutions. By about 8.27am, the high school had been cleared out by the authorities, and the middle school and nearby elementary school were also evacuated around the same time.
Many area schools were placed on lockdown, including those in Woodward-Granger and Madrid, nearby cities about 12 and 18.5 miles east of Perry, respectively. Parents picked their children up from the schools as they scrambled to figure out whether or not their loved ones were among the injured or dead.
A huge emergency services presence was at the school (joseph_ponce69/Tiktok)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 7.36am. Kevin Shelley, who drives a rubbish truck, told his boss he had to run. "It was the most scared I've been in my entire life," he said.
Vigils were planned Thursday evening at a park and a local church. A post on the high school's Facebook page said it would be closed Friday, with counselling services planned at the public library Friday and Saturday.
Rachael Kares, an 18-year-old senior, 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 heard additional shots as she ran, but didn't know how many. She was more concerned about getting home to her 3-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.
Dallas County Sherriff, Adam Infante, speaks during a press conference (AFP via Getty Images)The high school in Perry is part of the 1,785-student Perry Community School District. The town is more diverse than Iowa as a whole, with census figures showing that 31 percent of the residents are Hispanic, compared to less than 7 percent for the state. Those figures also show that nearly 19 percent of the town's residents were born outside the U.S.
Perry has about 8,000 residents and is about 40 miles (64 kilometres) northwest of Des Moines, on the edge of the state capital's metropolitan area.
* An AI tool was used to add an extra layer to the editing process for this story. You can report any errors to [email protected]
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