Photo Credit: AP

In a horrifying incident on Thursday, police in Perry, Iowa, reported multiple gunshots at the city’s high school. The tragic event unfolded early on students’ first day back after the winter break. Two gunshot victims were rushed to Iowa Methodist Medical Center in Des Moines, approximately 40 miles away. Dallas County Sheriff Adam Infante revealed that the shooting occurred before the school day started, limiting the number of students and faculty present.

The suspect, believed to have died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, adds a grim dimension to the incident, as reported by a law enforcement official. The shooting unfolded against the backdrop of the Iowa caucuses, not far from where Republican presidential candidates were campaigning.

The active shooter situation was reported at 7:37 a.m., with officers responding within seven minutes. Emergency vehicles swarmed the building housing both the town’s middle and high schools. Accounts from witnesses, including students like Zander Shelley and Rachael Kares, paint a chaotic scene of gunshots, fear, and a hurried evacuation.

FBI agents from the Omaha-Des Moines office joined the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation in the ongoing probe. Perry Mayor Dirk Cavanaugh emphasized the lack of confirmed numbers regarding those involved, heightening the community’s distress.

Parents like Erica Jolliff expressed deep concern for their children’s safety, with some students reporting being rushed from the school grounds. The diverse Perry Community School District, with its 1,785 students, faces an unprecedented tragedy. The town’s demographics, notably 31% Hispanic residents, add to the complex impact of the incident.

Messages to the Perry School Board and Superintendent Clark Wicks were not immediately returned, leaving the community in a state of shock and grief.

Credit: AP