Perry High School principal distracted shooter, saved lives, daughter says

DES MOINES, Iowa − Several lives may have been saved Thursday morning in the shooting in Perry, Iowa, when a school principal distracted the shooter, buying more time for students to escape, the principal's daughter announced Thursday night.

Perry High School principal Dan Marburger was among five people shot, and he was in stable condition late Thursday, his daughter Claire wrote on Facebook. The other four people who were shot were students.

On Thursday morning, Marburger began speaking to the shooter, who police have identified as 17-year-old Dylan Butler, talking him down and allowing students to flee, Claire said Thursday night.

"It is absolutely zero surprise to hear he tried to approach and talk Dylan down and distract him long enough for some students to get out of the cafeteria," she wrote. "That’s just Dad."

Butler later died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, police said.

Police are continuing their investigation Friday, including looking into social media posts made by the shooter before the shooting began.

Police say Butler killed a sixth-grader, injured five and left an undetonated improvised explosive device at the school. The shooting occurred on the first day of classes for the spring semester, during the school's return from winter break. Perry High School is located about 40 miles northwest of Des Moines.

The shooter made several posts "in and around the time of the shooting," including a photo posted on TikTok in a bathroom before the shooting began, police said Thursday.

In the aftermath of the shooting, Perry residents held vigils Thursday evening at churches, a factory and in a park.

The shooting is one of the first high-profile school shootings of 2024 and comes as school shootings continue to rock U.S. campuses, reaching an all-time high during the last two years.

Daughter says principal put himself in 'harm's way'

In the Facebook post, Claire said her father is recovering after being in surgery while mourning the death of the victim and shooter on Thursday.

She described her father as a selfless man who "brought a sense of calm and reassurance" to people around him.

The principal's daughter also said she expected her father to put himself between the gunman and students.

"I instantly had a feeling my Dad would be a victim as he would put himself in harms way for the benefit of the kids and his staff," Claire wrote on Facebook.

What did the Perry, Iowa school shooter post to social media?

Police said they are investigating several social media posts made Thursday morning by the shooter, who was a student at the school.

One bathroom stall selfie showed a blue duffle bag by his feet, and the caption read "now we wait."

The TikTok post, which has since been taken down along with Butler's social media accounts, was accompanied by the song "Stray Bullet" by rock group KMFDM. The song infamously was used on the personal website of one of the shooters of the Columbine High School massacre in 1999.

The Iowa shooter had more than 250 followers before his account was shut down.

Calls to the suspect's parents from the Des Moines Register, part of the USA TODAY Network, were not immediately returned Thursday.

Police said they found and disabled an improvised explosive device in the school and the shooter was armed with a pump-action shotgun and a small-caliber handgun.

Perry community mourns latest Iowa school shooting

Iowa schools and school programs have faced at least six shootings or reports of gunfire in or around the school in the past decade, the Des Moines Register reported.

Sebastian Robles, a senior at Perry High School, was chatting with some of his classmates while waiting for a meal to begin during a vigil at the Progressive Foundary factory. He said he had been looking forward to the first day of school after winter break, until the shooting shattered his outlook.

“I woke up this morning and took a shower, tried to look a little decent for the first day back. I was thinking it would be a good day and I woke up to this,” Robles said.