Multiple people were injured after a gunman attacked a high school in Iowa, a state where Republican presidential hopefuls have gathered ahead of the 2024 caucus.
At least one person is believed to be dead following the shooting at Perry High School, which is roughly 25 miles from Des Moines, on the morning of Jan. 4. Two people have been transported to the Iowa Methodist Medical Center. Details of their conditions have not been publicly released.
"There is no further danger to the public. The community is safe," said Dallas County Sheriff Adam Infante during a press conference around 10 A.M., per ABC News. "We're just now working backwards, trying to figure out everything that happened and make notifications."
Around 7:37 A.M. local time, law enforcement received a report of an active shooter. This was the first day students returned to campus after winter break. Around 1,785 students attend Perry High School, which is attached to the town’s middle school. The middle school was cleared around 8:25 A.M. by a team of first responders. A second team of first responders cleared the high school at 8:27 A.M. The nearby elementary school was evacuated at 8:32 A.M.
The shooter has been identified but police have not released the suspect’s name, according to We Are Iowa.
Students have been reunited with their families. In addition to local law enforcement, agents from the Omaha-Des Moines field office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation were on the scene as well as the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation.
A local news outlet – The Perry News – reported that one victim had two gunshot wounds to the head. A student told NBC News she saw another girl with a shot to the leg being carried out of the school’s auditorium.
Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley called the attack “appalling” and “heartbreaking” in a message on X and expressed his gratitude for the “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,” he wrote.
The shooting comes 11 days before the Iowa Caucuses.
Republican presidential hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy is scheduled to hold a campaign event in Perry on Jan. 4.
“Pray for the community in Perry, Iowa this morning,” Ramaswamy wrote on X at 9:48 A.M.
“We canceled our event and converted it to a prayer & open conversation,” the pharmaceutical entrepreneur wrote in a second post just after 12 P.M. “Strikingly, the first two people who spoke to us each said they ‘weren’t surprised’ & that it was just a matter of time before something like this happened. We have a psychological sickness at the core of our country right now.”
Other schools in the area, including Perry Elementary School, have announced they will remain closed until the end of the weekend.
“Our hearts are broken by this senseless tragedy. Our prayers are with the students, teachers & families of the Perry Community,” said Governor Kim Reynold of Iowa in a statement. “I have been in contact with law enforcement agencies & am continuing to monitor the situation.”
