Police in Perry, Iowa, say there was a shooting Thursday at the city’s high school, on students’ first day back in classes after their annual winter break.
A woman who answered the Perry Police Department phone confirmed the shooting at Perry High School but did not provide any further information.
An enormous number of emergency vehicles surrounded the building that houses the town’s middle school and high school.
Zander Shelley, 15, was in a hallway waiting for the first day of school after break to start when he heard gunshots and dashed into a classroom, according to his father, Kevin Shelley. Zander was grazed twice and hid in the classroom before texting his father at 7:36 a.m.
Kevin Shelley, who drives a garbage truck, told his boss he had to run. “It was the most scared I’ve been in my entire life,” he said.
Sgt. Alex Dinkla of the Iowa State Police said he didn’t yet have information on the shooting but planned an update for later in the morning. A media staging area was set up near the high school.
FBI agents from the Omaha-Des Moines office are on scene to help with the investigation led by the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation.
“There are a bunch of speculative numbers floating around,” said Dirk Cavanaugh, Perry’s mayor. “We have no confirmed numbers of who was involved yet.”
Erica Jolliff said that her daughter, a ninth grader, reported getting rushed from the school grounds at 7:45 am. Distraught, Jolliff was still looking for her son Amir, a sixth grader, one hour later.
“I just want to know that he’s safe and OK,” Jolliff said. “They won’t tell me nothing.”
The high school is part of the 1,785-student Perry Community School District. Perry, with about 8,000 residents, is about 40 miles (64 kilometers) northwest of the state capital of Des Moines.
The shooting occurred in the backdrop of the Iowa caucuses and not far from where Republican candidates were campaigning.
Phone messages left with the Perry School Board’s president and vice president, and an email message left with Superintendent Clark Wicks, were not immediately returned.
Dallas County’s Emergency Management Agency said a new conference would be held later in the morning.
Editor’s note: Updated with additional details.