A shooting in rural central Iowa killed one student and injured four others Thursday morning, according to local police.
A school administrator was also injured in the incident, which occurred just after 7:30 a.m. at Perry High School, located about 40 minutes northwest of Des Moines, officials said.
The suspected gunman, 17-year-old Dylan Butler, entered the school with a pump action shotgun and handgun, and also attempted to set off a “rudimentary” explosive device, Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation Assistant Director Mitch Martinet said at a press conference Thursday afternoon.
Butler shot and killed a sixth grade student and injured four others — as well as the school administrator — police confirmed. He then shot and killed himself as police responded, minutes after first reports of the shooting, Martinet said.
Police did not comment on any potential motive, citing the early stages of the investigation.
“This senseless tragedy has shaken our entire state to the core,” Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds (R) said at the 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,” Reynolds added.
The shooting came just before school started on the first day back from winter break.
The incident brings more attention on the Hawkeye State, just more than a week before the Iowa caucuses kick off primary voting season on Jan. 15.
Reynolds declined to answer a question about the shooting’s impact on the caucuses and about gun control legislation in Iowa.
“We’re going to focus on the investigation,” she said. “And we’re gonna focus on making sure that we provide the resources that the community, the teachers, the staff, those that are involved, the families, that we’re providing the resources that they need during this difficult time.”
GOP candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, who was scheduled to hold an event in Perry just hours after the shooting, denounced gun violence as a sign of “psychological sickness” in the country.
Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-Fla.) also pointed to mental health in a NBC News interview Thursday, avoiding discussions on gun control regulation.