Perry High School Shooting: A Tragic Start to the New Year

A shooting took place Thursday at the high school in Perry, Iowa, according to the police. A woman who picked up the phone at the Perry Police Department verified the shooting at Perry High School but did not give any more details.

A huge number of emergency vehicles gathered around the building that contains the town’s middle school and high school. Erica Jolliff said that her daughter, a ninth grader, told her that they were evacuated from the school premises at 7:45 am. Jolliff was still searching for her son Amir, a sixth grader, an hour later. “I just want to know that he’s safe and OK,” Jolliff said. “They won’t tell me anything.”

The high school belongs to the 1,785-student Perry Community School District. Thursday was the first day of school for students after the holiday break. The shooting happened in the context of the Iowa caucuses and close to where Republican candidates were campaigning.

Phone messages sent to the Perry School Board’s president and vice president, and an email message sent to Superintendent Clark Wicks, were not answered right away. Dallas County’s Emergency Management Agency said a new conference would take place later in the morning. Perry is about 40 miles (64.37 kilometers) miles northwest of Des Moines.