The principal of a rural Iowa high school where a 17-year-old student armed with two handguns and improvised explosive devices opened fire Thursday tried to calm and “distract” the school shooter so other students could escape, his daughter has charged.
Principal Dan Marburger’s daughter, Claire, said when she heard about the shooting at Perry High School, she “immediately felt that my father was going to be a victim because he was going to put himself in harm’s way for the benefit of the kids and the staff.”
“It was not surprising to hear that he tried to approach and knock Dylan down and distract him long enough for several students to leave the cafeteria. That’s just dad,” he wrote on Facebook late Thursday.
The principal was among five people injured when Dylan Butler opened fire at about 7:37 a.m. while the breakfast program was in progress, according to Mitch Mortvedt, assistant director of the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation.
An unidentified sixth grader was killed in the rampage, after which Butler turned the gun on himself.
Dan Marburger, principal of Perry High School in rural Iowa, reportedly tried to calm and distract a school shooter to allow students to escape. Facebook / Claire Marburger
The principal was in stable condition after undergoing surgery “all day” Thursday, Claire wrote, describing her father as an amazing person.
“He would do anything for us kids, including driving seven hours round trip on school nights to watch me play in Decorah,” the Luther College graduate wrote, noting that his father would stay “long enough to give me $20, tell me I’m playing. well, give me a hug and get out.”
He said his father must have been “devastated” by the shooting.
“He’s going to be disappointed for Dylan, disappointed for the victims, devastated for the community, because every member of the community is a victim of this tragedy,” Claire said of her father, who has taught in the school district for more than 20 years. .
“It’s things like that that he takes personally.”
His daughter Claire Marburger updated friends and family on his condition after he was injured in Thursday’s rampage. Facebook / Claire Marburger The daughter described her father as an extraordinary person who would do “anything for us kids.” Facebook / Claire Marburger
Students who were on campus Thursday morning described the fear they felt when they heard gunshots ring out.
Rachael Kares, an 18-year-old senior, said she was practicing with the school’s jazz band at the time.
“We all just jumped,” he said. “My band teacher looked at us and yelled, ‘Run!’ So we ran.”
As Kares and his fellow students ran past the soccer field, he said, he heard additional shots and people yelling, “Get out! Get out!”
“At that time I didn’t care about anything except going out because I had to go home with my son,” said the student.
Others, however, were initially unsure of what was going on.
Dylan Butler opened fire at Perry High School at about 7:37 a.m. Thursday as the breakfast program was in progress. AFP via Getty Images
“I heard some bangs, it wasn’t loud. We saw a lot of people running out. We thought it was a prank or something. We didn’t think it was true at first,” a student named Carlos told WHO 13.
“That’s when a group of police started coming and we knew it was serious and we were told to leave. One of our teachers started yelling at us — that’s when we knew it was serious — he was telling us to ‘go, go, go.’”
All the evidence points to Butler acting alone, Mortvedt said, noting that he made cryptic social media posts before the rampage.
Butler posted a TikTok of herself grimacing in what appears to be a school bathroom stall, with the caption “now we wait.” Tooktoomuch/Tiktok
Butler posted a TikTok of herself grimacing in a school bathroom stall as a blue duffel bag was placed on the floor, with the caption “now we wait,” according to a local newspaper.
The song “Stray Bullet” by KMFDM played in the background of the broadcast, which featured lyrics like “I’m your nightmare come true, I’m your worst enemy,” and “Stray bullet, from the barrel of love.”
The song has also been posted to the website of Eric Harris, one of the shooters who opened fire at Columbine High School outside Denver in 1999.
Five people including the principal were injured in the shooting, and an unidentified sixth grader was killed. Reuters
A motive for the mass shooting has not been released by police, but community members say Butler has been bullied relentlessly throughout his life.
Sisters Yesenia Roeder and Khamya Hall, both 17, said along with their mother, Alita, that Butler finally snapped after her younger sister started being cheated on, too.
School officials never intervened, which they said was the “last straw” for Butler.
“He is sick. He is tired. He was tired of the bullying. He is tired of the distraction,” said Yesenia.
“Was it a smart idea to shoot up the school? Nope. God, no.”
Categories: Trending
Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
