HERE. IF YOU KNOW WHERE DARLA COULD BE, CALL POLICE. FOUR DAYS HAVE PASSED SINCE THE SMALL IOWA TOWN OF PERRY WAS TURNED UPSIDE DOWN BY AN ACT OF VIOLENCE. 11 YEAR OLD AMIR JOLLIFF WAS KILLED BY A 17 YEAR OLD SHOOTER WHILE EATING HIS BREAKFAST AT PERRY HIGH SCHOOL THURSDAY MORNING. SEVEN OTHERS WERE HURT, INCLUDING THE SCHOOL’S PRINCIPAL AND AT LEAST FOUR STUDENTS. TODAY, THE GOVERNOR EXTENDED HER ORDER TO KEEP FLAGS AT HALF STAFF THROUGH THURSDAY AND SIGNED A DISASTER. PROCLAMATION OPENING UP THE STATE TO RESOURCES TO HELP THAT TOWN RECOVER. NOW, THIS WHOLE ORDEAL LASTED JUST MINUTES, BUT AS CHANGED COUNTLESS LIVES FOREVER IN vlog IS KEEPING YOU UPDATED AS THE REMAINING QUESTIONS ARE ANSWERED. WE START WITH vlog, STACEY HORST AND STACEY. WE’RE HEARING FROM THE PARENTS OF THE SHOOTER FOR THE VERY FIRST TIME. AND WHAT DID THEY HAVE TO SAY? JODI WE RECEIVED A WRITTEN STATEMENT THIS AFTERNOON FROM AN ATTORNEY FOR JACK AND AARON BUTLER. THEY ARE THE PARENTS OF DYLAN BUTLER 17 YEAR-OLD PERRY HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT POLICE IDENTIFIED AS LAST WEEK’S SHOOTER, DYLAN WAS FOUND DEAD OF A SELF-INFLICTED GUNSHOT WOUND IN THE SCHOOL THURSDAY. HIS PARENTS STATEMENT SAY THEY ARE DEVASTATED BY WHAT HAPPENED AND HAD NO INKLING OF THE HORRIBLE VIOLENCE THAT WAS GOING TO FOLLOW AFTER THEY DROPPED THEIR SON DYLAN, OFF AT SCHOOL THURSDAY, THEY WENT ON TO SAY THAT DYLAN HAD BEEN DISCUSSING FUTURE PLANS AND THAT IT FELT LIKE HE WAS READY TO GET BACK TO SCHOOL AFTER CHRISTMAS VACATION. THEIR DAUGHTER WAS ALSO IN THE SCHOOL AT THE TIME OF THE SHOOTING. JACK AND AARON BUTLER ADDED, QUOTE, WE CANNOT REPAY THE GRACE THAT WE HAVE BEEN SHOWN IN PUBLIC AND PRIVATE. WE ARE HELPING AUTHORITIES AND WILL CONTINUE TO HELP TO PROVIDE ANSWERS TO THE QUESTION OF WHY OUR SON COMMITTED THIS SENSELESS CRIME, UNQUOTE. THEY SAID THEY HAVE NO FURTHER COMMENT. IN AN INTERVIEW WITH THE ASSOCIATED PRESS PUBLISHED FRIDAY, ERICA JOLLIFF, THE MOTHER OF 11 YEAR OLD AMIR JOLLIFF, WHO WAS KILLED, SAID SHE WAS TRULY SORRY FOR THE BUTLER’S LOSS. LAURA STACEY, THANK YOU. WILL THE SHOOTING IN PERRY PROMPTED STUDENTS FROM ACROSS CENTRAL IOWA TO LEAVE CLASS TODAY AND HEAD TO THE STATE CAPITAL. vlog’S MARCUS MCINTOSH IS THERE LIVE TONIGHT? AND MARCUS, THIS IS ALL PART OF A PROTEST FROM THE GROUP CALLED MARCH FOR OUR LIVES. THAT’S VERY TRUE. LAURA. MARCH FOR OUR LIVES. IOWA IS A YOUTH RUN GUN VIOLENCE PREVENTION ORGANIZATION. NOW, THEY SAY THEY’RE FIGHTING FOR SENSIBLE POLICIES THAT SAVE LIVES. THE GROUP ORGANIZED A STATEWIDE SCHOOL WALKOUT AND RALLY AT THE STATE CAPITOL TODAY, ABOUT 50 OR SO EAST HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS MARCHED TO THE CAPITOL, TELLING US IT WAS IMPORTANT FOR THEM TO ATTEND THE RALLY AND SHOW THEIR SUPPORT FOR PERRY HIGH SCHOOL AND THAT SCHOOL COMMUNITY. SOME OF THE STUDENTS AT EAST KNOW ALL TOO WELL WHAT HAPPENED DURING THE SCHOOL SHOOTING, AND THE AFTERMATH OF A DEADLY SHOOTING IN MARCH OF 2022, A SHOOTING OUTSIDE THEIR SCHOOL KILLED ONE AND SERIOUSLY INJURED TWO OTHERS. THOSE STUDENTS ARE NOW SHOWING THEIR SUPPORT FOR ANOTHER COMMUNITY STRUCK BY VIOLENCE. I THINK IT’S VERY, VERY IMPORTANT AND THAT A LOT OF US SHOULD BE PARTICIPATING IN JUST BECAUSE, LIKE YOU’RE AFFECTED, WE’RE AFFECTED AND IT’S JUST A GOOD THING TO SAY THAT
'Trying to make sense out of the senseless': Parents of Perry school shooter Dylan Butler release public statement
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Updated: 5:23 PM CST Jan 8, 2024
The parents of the 17-year-old Perry High School student who killed one person and injured seven others in a shooting at the school last week released a public statement Monday afternoon. Authorities say Dylan Butler had a pump-action shotgun and a small-caliber handgun when he shot and killed 11-year-old Ahmir Jolliff before classes started Thursday morning, Jan. 4. Butler wounded seven others, including four students and three staffers, before killing himself. Authorities have provided no information about a possible motive or how Butler, who they believe acted alone, obtained the firearms.Ahmir Jolliff: Visitation, funeral information for slain Perry sixth-graderThe full statement from Jack and Erin Butler:From the Office of Mark Powell, Attorney for Jack and Erin ButlerAs the minutes and hours have passed since the horrors our son Dylan inflicted on the victims, the Perry School and the community, we have been trying to make sense out of the senseless. We are simply devastated and our grief for the deceased, his family, the wounded and their families is immeasurable. When we dropped off our son for school on January 4th, we had no inkling he intended the horrible violence he was about to inflict. On the way to school Dylan had been discussing with us of future plans and it felt like he was ready to get back to school after Christmas vacation and the start of a new semester. Dylan’s sister, our daughter, was in the school at the time of the shooting. We simply do not understand how this could happen and why Dylan chose to do what he did. Perry is our home and beloved community. We would never wish the harm and pain that Dylan’s actions caused on anyone and we could not have imagined that Dylan would carry out such a heinous act. Our family has to mourn and bury our son, and live with this terrible legacy. We cannot repay the grace we have been shown in public and private. We are helping authorities and will continue to help to provide answers to the question of why our son committed this senseless crime. Through God’s grace we hope the answers can be found and that those answers will prevent other young people from harming others. At this time, our family will have no further comment.From Jack and Erin ButlerWATCH: Biological father of 11-year-old Perry shooting victim wants son's life to bring joyFull coverage of Perry school shooting:Ahmir Jolliff: Sixth-grader killed in Perry school shooting remembered as a joyful boy'Ahmir was a star:' Father of 11-year-old Perry shooting victim wants son's life to bring joy Photos of Ahmir Jolliff, 11-year-old boy killed in Perry, Iowa school shootingVisitation, funeral information for slain Perry sixth-grader Ahmir Jolliff'That's what scouts do:' Perry Boy Scout troop organizes teddy bear drive for elementary studentsAuthorities identify sixth-grader killed in Perry shootingQuestions linger about Perry school shooter's motive, where he got firearmsNebraska senator after Iowa school shooting: Give schools option of arming employeesAuthorities identify 17-year-old shooter who killed 1, wounded 7 in Perry school shootingFamilies recount terrifying moments from inside Perry High School during deadly shootingPolice on massive response to Perry High School: 'No community is immune'Iowa leaders, elected officials react to Perry High School shootingResources available for families impacted by Perry High School shootingDispatch recordings provide timeline of Perry High School shooting in IowaPerry High School principal Dan Marburger among 7 wounded'May this vigil be a beacon of light': Hundreds gather at Perry park to pray and mourn as a communityFamilies of Sandy Hook victims release statement on Perry High School shootingPerry school shooting creates new questions for Republicans in Iowa’s presidential caucusesPerry school superintendent provides update on when classes may resume after deadly shooting
PERRY, Iowa — The parents of the 17-year-old Perry High School student who killed one person and injured seven others in a shooting at the school last week released a public statement Monday afternoon.
Authorities say Dylan Butler had a pump-action shotgun and a small-caliber handgun when he shot and killed 11-year-old Ahmir Jolliff before classes started Thursday morning, Jan. 4. Butler wounded seven others, including four students and three staffers, before killing himself.
Authorities have provided no information about a possible motive or how Butler, who they believe acted alone, obtained the firearms.
Ahmir Jolliff: Visitation, funeral information for slain Perry sixth-grader
The full statement from Jack and Erin Butler:
From the Office of Mark Powell, Attorney for Jack and Erin Butler
As the minutes and hours have passed since the horrors our son Dylan inflicted on the victims, the Perry School and the community, we have been trying to make sense out of the senseless. We are simply devastated and our grief for the deceased, his family, the wounded and their families is immeasurable.
When we dropped off our son for school on January 4th, we had no inkling he intended the horrible violence he was about to inflict. On the way to school Dylan had been discussing with us of future plans and it felt like he was ready to get back to school after Christmas vacation and the start of a new semester. Dylan’s sister, our daughter, was in the school at the time of the shooting. We simply do not understand how this could happen and why Dylan chose to do what he did.
Perry is our home and beloved community. We would never wish the harm and pain that Dylan’s actions caused on anyone and we could not have imagined that Dylan would carry out such a heinous act. Our family has to mourn and bury our son, and live with this terrible legacy.
We cannot repay the grace we have been shown in public and private. We are helping authorities and will continue to help to provide answers to the question of why our son committed this senseless crime. Through God’s grace we hope the answers can be found and that those answers will prevent other young people from harming others.
At this time, our family will have no further comment.
From Jack and Erin Butler
WATCH: Biological father of 11-year-old Perry shooting victim wants son's life to bring joy
Full coverage of Perry school shooting:
