Dylan Butler had always been a quiet kid, according to those who knew him.
So when he unleashed terror through Perry High School on the morning of 4 January, killing one person and injuring five, it sent shockwaves through the community.
The 17-year-old had been the target of bullying since his very early years, and the bullying had recently engulfed his sister in the leadup to his violent rampage at his rural Iowa high school, according to his classmates.
He also used his social media accounts to display his fascination with serial killers such as Jeffrey Dahmer and to share photos of himself posing with firearms.
The teenager, who was a former student at the school, was found dead on the scene. An Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation official said he died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Police are now trying to establish his motive for the killings as they attempt to piece together the events leading up to the shooting.
Here’s what we know so far:
The shooting
Butler opened fire on Perry High School at around 7.37am local time, just as students were preparing to return for the first day of their second semester.
Within minutes law enforcement was notified of an active shooter situation in the high school, which is located approximately 30 miles from Des Moines. Upon arrival, police officers found several gunshot victims and launched a search for the shooter.
Mr Mortvedt, an assistant director with the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, said officers “quickly found what appeared to be the shooter with a self-inflicted gunshot wound.”
Iowa school shooter Dylan Butler— (Dylan Butler/Tik Tok)
He added that the shooter was found holding a pump-action shotgun and a small-caliber handgun.
One sixth grader was killed in the shooting, while five other people were injured, including the school’s principal.
Dallas County Sheriff Adam Infante said Butler opened fire before the opening bell, when “very few students and faculty” were in the building.
The ‘bullied’ suspect
Butler, who authorities said acted alone, was described as a quiet person who had been bullied for years by his former classmates.
Sisters Yesenia Roeder and Khamya Hall, both 17, said that Butler had been bullied relentlessly since elementary school.
Community members gather in Wiese park for a candlelight vigil— (Getty Images)
They added that the bullying had escalated recently, when his younger sister started getting picked on, too. Officials at the school didn’t intervene, they said, and that was “the last straw” for the shooter.
“He was hurting. He got tired. He got tired of the bullying. He got tired of the harassment,” Yesenia Roeder Hall said.
“Was it a smart idea to shoot up the school? No. God, no,” she added.
Khamya described Butler as “the kindest person ever”.
“He was there for us when we needed him, and we tried to be there when he needed us, which clearly we weren’t there for him enough,” she added through tears.
Final post
Iowa police are now looking into “a number of social media posts” made by Butler in the lead up to the shooting, officials said at a press conference.
Moments before the shooting, Butler posted a final chilling video on his since-deleted TikTok account. In the video, Butler posed in a bathroom stall at the school with a blue duffle bag at his feet along with the caption: “now we wait.”
It was accompanied by the song “Stray Bullet” by the German band KMFDM - also used on the personal website of Eric Harris, one of the shooters involved in the 1999 Columbine High School massacre.
Iowa school shooter Dylan Butler’s final TikTok post— (Dylan Butler/TikTok)
Other videos reportedly on the account that were shared on Reddit show Butler emulating the Cook from “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre” and serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer by repeating popular mannerisms and lines from various shows.
He is also seen pointing a stick at a friend as if it were a gun in one of several clips where he references being a “stoner.”
Investigators have also found other photos Butler posted posing with firearms, according to the Associated Press.
A law enforcement official said federal and state investigators were interviewing Butler’s friends and analysing his online footprint, including posts on TikTok and Reddit.
