A Rough Start to School Day: Imagine heading back to school after a nice winter break, and suddenly, your school is all over the news. That’s what happened in Perry, Iowa. Early Thursday morning, as students were just starting their day at Perry High School, something terrible happened: a shooting.
What We Know So Far: Before the first bell even rang, shots were fired. Two people got hurt and had to be rushed to a hospital in Des Moines, which is quite a drive from Perry. The school, which is usually full of life, turned into a scary scene.
The Shooter: Here’s the sad part – the person who did the shooting is believed to have taken their own life. This info came from someone in law enforcement who wanted to stay anonymous.
Timing and Quick Response: This all went down early in the morning, around 7:37 a.m. The police were there super quick, by 7:44 a.m. But at that time, they weren’t sure how bad things were or how many people were hurt.
Real Stories from the Scene: Students like Zander Shelley, who’s only 15, heard the gunshots and had to hide in a classroom. He even got grazed by a couple of bullets. Then there’s Rachael Kares, an 18-year-old senior, who was at band practice when she heard the shots. She ran for it, thinking about her 3-year-old son at home.
The Town Reacts: Perry isn’t a big place – about 8,000 people live there. So, you can imagine how this shook everyone up. The school where this happened has both middle and high school students. The FBI and other big-time investigators came to help figure out what happened.
Parents in Panic: Parents like Erica Jolliff were freaking out, trying to find their kids and make sure they were safe. The mayor and other officials were trying to get the facts straight, but there was a lot of confusion.
A Community in Shock: Perry is more diverse than a lot of places in Iowa, with lots of Hispanic folks and people born outside the U.S. This shooting happened right in the middle of some important political stuff in Iowa, which made it even more intense.