Sixth-grade student killed in Iowa school shooting, suspect dead

A sixth-grade student was killed on Thursday morning and five other people wounded when a 17-year-old opened fire at an Iowa school on the first day of classes following the winter break, law enforcement officials said.

The suspect was identified as Dylan Butler, a student at Perry High School, officials said at a news briefing. He was found dead with an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound by responding officers.

Police also discovered an improvised explosive device when searching the high school, Mitch Mortvedt, an assistant director with the state Department of Criminal Investigation, told reporters. Members of the state fire marshal’s office and the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives rendered the device safe.

The Iowa shooting, on the district’s first day of classes in 2024, is part of a national epidemic of gun violence in U.S. schools that has worsened in recent years.

Read more: Reuters