Principal took risk to save others
Iowan intervened with school shooter, remains hospitalized
PERRY, Iowa — An Iowa principal critically injured in a school shooting put himself in harm’s way so students could try to escape from a teenage shooter who opened fire in a cafeteria as students were gathering for breakfast before class, authorities said Friday.
Perry High School Principal Dan Marburger and six others, including two staff members and four teenage students, were injured in the Thursday morning shooting that left one sixth grader dead. The 17-yearold student who opened fire also died of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot.
The state Department of Public Safety said Marburger, who is being treated in a Des Moines hospital, “acted selflessly and placed himself in harm’s way in an apparent effort to protect his students.”
Details also emerged about other victims. The student killed was identified as 11-year-old Ahmir Jolliff, who was shot three times, authorities said. The mother of one teenager posted on Facebook that her son was helped to an ambulance after he was shot multiple times. Perry Superintendent Clark Wicks said several people helped others to safety.
“This is an extremely painful and difficult time for our entire school community, and in our grief, we will take time to remember,” Wicks said.
Yellow crime tape still lined the campus Perry High School shares with the town’s middle school on Friday, and flowers and stuffed toys had cropped up in mini memorials. Wicks said classes will not resume in the district before next Friday at the earliest.
The news that seven students and staff suffered “wounds or injuries of varying degree” during the shooting was two more than authorities said Thursday afternoon. Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation spokesman Mitch Mortvedt said the number increased after investigators later learned about two more wounded faculty members. All seven are believed to have been either wounded or grazed by bullets, and suffered injuries ranging from significant to minor.
On Friday, Marburger and two students remained hospitalized.
In a Facebook post Thursday night, the principal’s daughter said he was in “surgery all day, and is currently stable.”
Claire Marburger called her father a “gentle giant” and said it wasn’t surprising that he tried to protect his students.
“As I heard of a gunman, I instantly had a feeling my Dad would be a victim as he would put himself in harm’s way for the benefit of the kids and his staff,” his daughter wrote. “That’s just Dad.”
She went on to write that her father is thankful for the community’s support, but asked for compassion toward the gunman’s family as well.
“Show grace to the Butler family, as we are not our kids mistakes and actions or our parents mistakes and actions,” she wrote. “Remember this is something Dylan’s family has to live with too, as well as losing their child.”
Ahmir’s mother, Erica Jolliff, said on that morning, her son couldn’t wait to get to school and left minutes ahead of his mom and sister, who is in ninth grade. Jolliff soon found herself scouring the streets for her children when authorities sped into town and blocked access to the complex after the shooting. She found her daughter unharmed. But she couldn’t find Ahmir.
“I just had a feeling he was still in that building,” she said.
Jolliff said she was horrified to hear that friends of 17-yearold Dylan Butler, who police have identified as the shooter, say he was bullied for years and that teachers and school officials did nothing to protect him.
“We send our condolences to the family of Dylan; they’re in our prayers and we’re truly sorry for his loss as well,” she said in an interview late Friday with The Associated Press.
Mortvedt said Marburger, who has been principal since 1995, did some “pretty significant things” to protect others during the shooting, but didn’t release details. Wicks, the superintendent, said Marburger was a “hero” who intervened with Butler so students could escape. Wicks said other staff also acted heroically, including middle school assistant principal Adam Jessen who “carried a wounded student into a safe area.”
The shooting happened just after 7:30 a.m. Thursday, shortly before classes were set to begin on the first day back after winter break. Mortvedt said the shooting started in the cafeteria, where students from several grades were eating breakfast, then spilled outside the cafeteria but was contained to the north end of the school.
Authorities said the suspect had a pump-action shotgun and a small-caliber handgun. Mortvedt told The Associated Press that authorities also found a “pretty rudimentary” improvised explosive device in Butler’s belongings, and that experts advised “it was something that they needed to disarm.” It was rendered safe.
A law enforcement official briefed on the investigation said federal and state investigators were interviewing Butler’s friends and analyzing Butler’s social media profiles, including posts on TikTok and Reddit. However, authorities have provided no information about a possible motive.
Shortly before Thursday’s shooting, Butler posted a photo on TikTok inside the bathroom of Perry High School, the official said. The photo was captioned “now we wait” and the song “Stray Bullet” by the German band KMFDM accompanied it. Investigators also have found posted photos of Butler posing with firearms, according to the official, who was not authorized to publicly discuss details of the investigation and spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity.