Gunman Dylan Butler endured years of relentless bullying that had recently engulfed his sister in the run-up to his violent attack at their rural Iowa high school on Thursday, community members said.
The 17-year-old was armed with a pump-action shotgun, a small-caliber handgun and an improvised explosive device when he opened fire at Perry High School at 7:47 a.m., police said.
Butler killed a sixth-grade boy and wounded five others, including his principal, before turning the gun on himself.
However, he had plans to kill many more: his body was found with the undetonated improvised explosive device, which police described as “quite rudimentary.”
Dylan Butler shot himself after shooting six people, including a sixth-grade student who died. Tooktoomuch/Tiktok Before the shooting, Dylan Butler had posed a TikTok in what appeared to be the school bathroom while a blue duffel bag was on the floor with the caption “now we wait,” according to the local newspaper. Tooktoomuch/Tiktok Butler was found with the “rudimentary” improvised explosive device not yet detonated, police said. Took too much / Tiktok
The teenager is believed to have acted alone, although his motive remains unclear.
A family who knew Butler described him as a quiet person who had endured bullying since elementary school.
Sisters Yesenia Roeder and Khamya Hall, both 17, along with their mother, Alita, told the Associated Press that Butler finally snapped after her younger sister also started being picked on.
Dylan Butler was identified as the armed teenager who killed one person and wounded five others in an early morning attack in rural Iowa on Thursday. REUTERS Butler was armed with two firearms and an improvised explosive device, according to police. REUTERS/Cheney Orr
School officials never intervened, which they said was “the last straw” for Butler.
“I was suffering. She got tired. He got tired of the harassment. She got tired of the harassment,” Yesenia said.
“Was it a good idea to shoot up the school? No. God, no.”
On the verge of tears, Khamya called Butler “the kindest person who ever lived” before heartbreakingly suggesting that she and her friends could have been to blame for the rampage.
“He was there for us when we needed him, and we tried to be there when he needed us, but clearly we weren’t there enough for him,” she said.
He posted a cryptic video on his now-deleted social media pages in the moments before the harrowing attack on the campus of the small town that housed a middle school and a high school, 40 miles northwest of Des Moines.
According to Dallas County Sheriff Adam Infante, Butler began shooting when “very few” students and teachers were in the building. AP Photo/Andrew Harnik Butler is believed to have acted alone. AP
In the TikTok video, Butler posed in the school bathroom with a blue duffel bag at her feet along with the caption, “now we wait.”
The video was overlaid with the song “Stray Bullet” by rock group KMFDM, which includes lyrics such as “I am your nightmare come true, I am your worst enemy” and “Lost bullet, from the barrel of love.”
It was also infamously used on the personal website of Eric Harris, one of the shooters in the 1999 Columbine High School massacre.
People hug each other outside the McCreary Community Building. AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall Students are led out of the McCreary Community Building after gathering after the shooting. AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall
Other alleged videos from the account that were shared on Reddit show Butler emulating the cook from “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre” and Jeffrey Dahmer repeating popular gestures and lines from the respective shows.
He is also seen pointing a stick at a friend as if it were a gun in one of several clips where he references being a “stoner.”
Investigators also found other photos Butler posted posing with firearms, sources close to him told the Associated Press.
It is unclear whether the firearms used in the attack belonged to Butler.
As of July 2021, Iowa does not require a permit to purchase a gun or carry a firearm in public, although it requires a background check for anyone who purchases a gun without a permit.
Police did not identify Butler’s six victims, but the Easton Valley Community School District confirmed that Dan Marburger, the school’s principal since 1995, was one of the survivors.
“Our hearts break to hear of this type of violence affecting so many people, including many in our community. Our thoughts will also be with the entire Perry community as they grieve this traumatic event. We will follow up with any updates once we receive more information,” the district said in a statement.
One of the five survivors is in critical condition, but his injuries do not appear to be life-threatening, police said. The other four victims were stable.
The attack occurred on the first day back to school after winter break, but Butler opened fire before the opening bell rang when “very few students and teachers” were in the building, the Dallas County sheriff said. , Adam Infante, at a press conference after the attack. shooting.
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Source: vtt.edu.vn