--- title: Iowa Teen Posted a TikTok Before Shooting: Authorities description: Investigators also believe Butler had posted other images of himself with guns on social media in the past. canonical: https://time.com/6552476/iowa-school-shooting-tiktok/ author: Anna Gordon article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2024-01-05T19:08:46.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-24T16:54:51.294Z article:section: U.S. og:title: Iowa Teen Posted a TikTok Before Shooting: Authorities og:description: Investigators also believe Butler had posted other images of himself with guns on social media in the past. og:url: https://time.com/6552476/iowa-school-shooting-tiktok/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt27da035cd5c84e6a/698a439709208f7ed041b122/Perry-highschool-shooting.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Shooting Reported At Perry High School In Iowa og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Iowa Teen Posted a TikTok Before Shooting: Authorities twitter:description: Investigators also believe Butler had posted other images of himself with guns on social media in the past. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt27da035cd5c84e6a/698a439709208f7ed041b122/Perry-highschool-shooting.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Iowa Teen Posted a TikTok Before High School Shooting: Authorities by [Anna Gordon](/author/anna-gordon/) ## Anna Gordon Gordon was a reporter for TIME, based in the London bureau. Jan 5, 2024 7:08 PM CUT  Community members gather in Wiese park for a candlelight vigil following the morning shooting at the Perry Middle School and High School complex on January 04, 2024 in Perry, Iowa. A 17-year-old student identified by authorities as Dylan Butler opened fire at the school on the first day back from the winter break, killing a student and wounding five others. Investigators say they believe the shooter died of a self-inflicted gunshot. Community members gather in Wiese park for a candlelight vigil following the morning shooting at the Perry Middle School and High School complex on January 04, 2024 in Perry, Iowa. A 17-year-old student identified by authorities as Dylan Butler opened fire at the school on the first day back from the winter break, killing a student and wounding five others. Investigators say they believe the shooter died of a self-inflicted gunshot.Scott Olson–Getty Images by [Anna Gordon](/author/anna-gordon/) ## Anna Gordon Gordon was a reporter for TIME, based in the London bureau. Jan 5, 2024 7:08 PM CUT After a 17-year-old opened fire at an Iowa high school Thursday, killing one and injuring five others, police say that the gunman posted to TikTok shortly before the attack, [the Associated Press](https://apnews.com/article/perry-high-school-shooting-iowa-1defc6260e074362240a31a7f30cf1b9 "undefined") reported. Dylan Butler, a student at Perry High School, is said to have posted a video on the platform with a selfie in one of the bathrooms inside Perry High School, with the caption, “now we wait” and the song “Stray Bullet” by German band KMFDM, the AP reported. The video has since been taken down. Investigators also believe Butler had posted other images of himself with guns on social media in the past. Butler died from what authorities believe was a self-inflicted gunshot wound after the attack, Mitch Mortvedt, the assistant director of the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, said at [a press conference](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IUUxOMR6wAY "undefined") on Thursday. Classmates of Butler also told the outlet that Butler was heavily bullied throughout his time at school but was mostly kind to others over the years. “He was there for us when we needed him and we tried to be there when he needed us but clearly we weren’t there for him enough,” Hall said. On Thursday night, Hundreds in the Perry community came together at a candlelight prayer vigil to comfort those who had been impacted by the shooting. The state of Iowa requires citizens to be at least [21-years-old](https://dps.iowa.gov/hf756-iowas-new-weapon-permit-law "undefined") before purchasing a firearm, raising questions as to how 17-year-old Butler got a hold of his gun. The state conducts background checks on purchases, but does not require firearm holders to have a permit. Gun violence in the U.S. has [become more common](https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2023/04/26/what-the-data-says-about-gun-deaths-in-the-u-s/ "undefined") in recent years, and prompted a national debate regarding gun legislation. In 2023 there were 656 mass shootings, more than double what the number was nine years ago, according to [the Gun Violence Archive](https://www.gunviolencearchive.org/ "undefined"). ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/6552476/iowa-school-shooting-tiktok/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/6552476/iowa-school-shooting-tiktok/"},"headline":"Iowa Teen Posted a TikTok Before High School Shooting: Authorities","datePublished":"2024-01-05T19:08:46.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-24T16:54:51.294Z","description":"Investigators also believe Butler had posted other images of himself with guns on social media in the past.","url":"https://time.com/6552476/iowa-school-shooting-tiktok/","keywords":["Iowa","News Desk"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt27da035cd5c84e6a/698a439709208f7ed041b122/Perry-highschool-shooting.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Anna Gordon","jobTitle":"Gordon was a reporter for TIME, based in the London bureau.","url":"https://time.com/author/anna-gordon/"}],"articleSection":"U.S.","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt27da035cd5c84e6a/698a439709208f7ed041b122/Perry-highschool-shooting.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Shooting Reported At Perry High School In Iowa","caption":"Perry High School Shooting","creditText":"Scott Olson–Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/us/","name":"U.S."}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/iowa/","name":"Iowa"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/6552476/iowa-school-shooting-tiktok/","name":"Iowa Teen Posted a TikTok Before High School Shooting: Authorities"}}]}] ```