(C) Iowa Capital Dispatch
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Shooting leaves ‘multiple’ victims at Perry High School [1]
['Kathie Obradovich', 'More From Author', '- January']
Date: 2024-01-04
A shooting early Thursday at Perry High School in Perry, Iowa, left “multiple” victims, according to area law enforcement.
The number, age and status of the victims was not yet released. Dallas County Sheriff Adam Infante said the shooter had been identified but he did not answer questions about the status of the alleged shooter or whether there had been an arrest.
“There is no further danger to the public,” Infante said during a news briefing in Perry.
Law enforcement was alerted to the shooting at 7:37 a.m., before the school day had begun. “Officers first arrived within seven minutes of that activation and located multiple gunshot victims. We’re still unclear exactly how many are injured or what the extent of those are, but we’re working on that right now,” Infante said.
“Luckily, there was very few students and faculty in the building, which I think contributed to a good outcome in that sense,” Infante said.
Multiple law enforcement agencies were on the scene, including the Iowa State Patrol.
Media reports indicated that several victims were airlifted to hospitals in Des Moines.
Infante said a reunification center had been set up for students and families and that he thought “all the kids had been reunified already.”
Politicians respond
U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley responded to what he called an “appalling” incident with a social media post on X, formerly Twitter, and said he would be prepared to help if federal resources were needed.
Todays appalling violence at Perry HS is heartbreaking Barbara + I are grateful for quick response by school officials &law enforcement to protect students +restore safety. The Perry community is strong& will band 2gether thru hard time Im here 2help if addtl fed resources needed — Chuck Grassley (@ChuckGrassley) January 4, 2024
U.S. Rep. Zach Nunn, who represents Iowa’s 3rd District, posted on X that he was “beyond angry” about the shooting. “We have a duty to protect our children, families and educators,” he posted.
After today’s tragic attack at Perry High School, I’ve remained in close contact with first-responders who have indicated to me that the school is now secure. pic.twitter.com/F9CeE5tr63 — Congressman Zach Nunn (@ZachNunn) January 4, 2024
Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy said in a social media post that he arrived in Perry shortly after the shooting for a scheduled campaign event. He wrote that the event was canceled and converted to an opportunity for prayer and open conversation.
We pray for the victims of the tragic high school shooting in Perry, Iowa. I happened to be there today right after it happened, we canceled our event and converted it to a prayer & open conversation. Strikingly, the first two people who spoke to us each said they “weren’t… pic.twitter.com/bw3VoXPvoF — Vivek Ramaswamy (@VivekGRamaswamy) January 4, 2024
Democratic legislative leaders were meeting with reporters in a legislative forum at the State Capitol as the first shooting reports were being released.
“I want to start by just extending condolences to those in Perry, Iowa,” Senate Minority Leader Pam Jochum, D-Dubuque, said. “I know that we are still waiting for more details on what happened there. But I think I can speak for all the Democrats and actually everybody in the state of Iowa that our hearts go out to the families on whatever has occurred there.”
Neither Jochum nor House Minority Leader Jennifer Konfrst commented directly on gun policy in Iowa. The Republican legislative majority in Iowa has steadily loosened gun restrictions and regulations over the past few years.
“Prevention of gun violence has always been on our agenda and we will keep a very watchful eye on how things progress in Perry,” Jochum said.
The Democratic leaders spoke at a forum sponsored by the Iowa Capitol Press Association. Republican legislative leaders were invited but did not participate.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
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