Dylan Butler: who is he? 17-Year-Old Suspect in Iowa School Shooting Who Killed One and Hurt Five

The principal was among the five people injured in Thursday’s horrific attack at Perry High School by an American adolescent who is accused of pulling a pistol on himself after murdering a sixth-grader.

Dylan Butler, 17, acted alone and was equipped with a pump-action shotgun, a small-caliber pistol, and a crude explosive device. It was alleged that Butler had been the target of constant harassment since elementary school.

Dylan’s motivation is yet unknown. The New York Post said that his upset family members cited the school’s lack of action as the decisive factor. According to the AP, “a number of social media posts” he made around the time of the shooting are being investigated by the police.

Butler’s pals were being questioned by federal and state authorities, according to a US law enforcement official informed on the case, and Butler’s social media accounts, including postings on Reddit and TikTok, were being examined.

“WE WAIT NOW.”
Butler shared a picture of the interior of Perry High School’s restroom on TikTok just before the shooting on Thursday. The German band KMFDM’s song “Stray Bullet,” which is well-known for being connected to the Columbine High School tragedy, was playing while the image’s caption read, “now we wait.”

He was shown posing with guns in other films, imitating horror movie characters. The ownership of the weapons is still unknown since background checks are the sole requirement for handgun purchases without licenses under Iowa’s lax gun laws, which do not require permits for purchase or carry.

The state capital, Des Moines, is located approximately 40 miles northwest of Perry, a town of around 7,900 people. There is still one very ill survivor in the decimated town. Part of a nationwide pandemic of gun violence in US schools is the incident that occurred on the first day of classes after winter break.

A US School Shooting Database shows that in 2023, there were 346 cases where a gun was exhibited or discharged at school or when a bullet struck school property. According to the website’s statistics, which dates back to 1966, it was the highest of any year and the third consecutive year that a record was made. In 2024, there have already been four of these occurrences.