(ASSOCIATED PRESS) A sixth grader was killed and five other people were wounded by a 17-year-old suspect in a shooting Thursday at a small-town Iowa high school, authorities in Perry, Iowa, said.
Authorities in Perry, Iowa, identified the gunman as a student at Perry High School. The suspect died of what investigators believe is a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
During a press conference, authorities said one of the victims, a sixth grader, had died. The other five were being treated at area hospitals.
According to authorities, the suspect had a pump action shotgun and a small caliber handgun. Investigators also found an improvised explosive device inside the school, which was rendered safe by the fire marshal.
Officials said the gunman also made social media posts in and around the time of the shooting.
Perry has about 8,000 residents and is about 40 miles (64 kilometers) northwest of Des Moines, on the edge of the state capital's metropolitan area. It is home to a large pork-processing plant, and low-slung, single story homes spread among trees now shorn of their leaves by winter. The high school and middle school are connected, sitting on the east edge of town.
High school senior Ava Augustus said she was in a counselor’s office, waiting for hers to arrive, when she heard three shots. She and other people barricaded the door, preparing to throw things if necessary, with a window being too small for an escape.
“And then we hear ‘He’s down. You can go out,’” Augustus said through tears. ”And I run and you can just see glass everywhere, blood on the floor. I get to my car and they’re taking a girl out of the auditorium who had been shot in her leg.”
Three gunshot victims were taken by ambulance to Iowa Methodist Medical Center in Des Moines, a spokesperson for its health system said. Some other patients were transported to a second hospital in Des Moines, a spokesperson for MercyOne Des Moines Medical Center confirmed, declining to comment on the number of patients or their statuses.
In Washington, U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland was briefed on the shooting. FBI agents from the Omaha-Des Moines office are assisting with the investigation led by the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation.
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