The parents of Iowa school shooter Dylan Butler — who killed a sixth-grader and wounded several others before shooting himself — said they “didn’t think he intended to commit such horrific violence” when they sent him to school last Thursday.
Jack and Erin Butler, whose 17-year-old son opened fire inside Perry High School shortly before 8 a.m., expressed their grief over the incident in a statement released by their attorney on Monday.
The Butlers said they talked about the future with their son on the way to school that morning and that “it feels like he’s ready to go back to school after Christmas break and the start of the new semester.”
“Dylan’s sister, our daughter, was at school at the time of the shooting,” the parents wrote in a statement obtained by KCCI.
“We don’t understand how this could have happened and why Dylan chose to do what he did.”
Just before classes were set to begin on the first day after winter break, Butler entered the building with a pump-action shotgun, a small-caliber handgun and an improvised explosive device.
The troubled teenager shot and killed sixth-grader Ahmir Jolliff and wounded four other students and three staff members before shooting himself.
The parents of Iowa school shooter Dylan Butler said they “didn’t think he intended to commit such horrific violence” when they sent him to school last Thursday. Dylan Butler/Facebook Just before class started, Butler entered the building with a shotgun, a small-caliber handgun and an improvised explosive device, according to police. Tooktoomuch/Tiktok
He had plans to kill more people – his body was found with unexploded explosives, which police described as “pretty rudimentary.”
His devastated family added: “We would never wish the harm and pain that Dylan’s actions have caused on anyone and we cannot imagine that Dylan would do such a despicable act.”
“Our family has to mourn and bury our son, and live with this terrible legacy,” they continued. “We cannot repay the kindness that we have shown in public and private. We are assisting the authorities and will continue to help provide answers to the question of why our son committed this senseless crime.”
The troubled teenager shot and killed sixth grader Ahmir Jolliff. REUTERS Four other students and three staff members were injured during the shooting. Getty Images Community members gather at Wiese Park for a candlelight vigil at the Perry Middle School and Middle School complex on January 4, 2024. Getty Images
The Butlers said they would have no further comment “at this time.”
Authorities did not share a possible motive or how Butler, who is believed to have acted alone, obtained the firearm.
Those who know the 17-year-old describe him as a quiet person who has suffered from bullying since elementary school.
“We just don’t understand how this could have happened and why Dylan chose to do what he did,” Bulter’s parents said. Tooktoomuch/Tiktok Dylan Bulter killed himself after shooting his classmates and faculty members. Getty Images
Sisters Yesenia Roeder and Khamya Hall, both 17, along with their mother, Alita, told the Associated Press that Butler finally snapped after her younger sister started being cheated on, too.
The teenager also posted a cryptic video to his since-deleted social media moments before he went on a rampage at the small-town campus that houses both a middle school and a high school, 40 miles northwest of Des Moines.
In a TikTok video, Butler posed in a bathroom stall at the school with a blue duffel bag at her feet with the caption: “Now we wait.”
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
