LGBTQ+ activist k#lls a sixth-grader, inj¥res others during a sh%oting in a school in the U.S

A 17-year-old identified as Dylan Butler opened fir£ at a small-town Iowa high school before classes resumed on the first day after the winter break, k#lling a sixth-grader and wounding five others on Thursday as students barricaded in offices, ducked into classrooms and fled in panic, AP News is reporting.

According to reports, the suspect, a student at the school in Perry, d#ed of what investigators believe is a self-inflicted g¥nshot wound, an Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation official said.

Authorities provided no information about Butler’s possible motive. Two friends and their mother who spoke with The Associated Press said Butler was a quiet person who had been b¥llied for years.

It is reported that Butler had a pump-action sh%tgun and a small-caliber handg¥n. Mitch Mortvedt, the state investigation division’s assistant director, said during a news conference that authorities also found a “pretty rudimentary” improvised explosive device and rendered it safe.

Mortvedt confirmed that there were six victims in the sh%oting: one deceased sixth-grade student from Perry Middle School and five others inj¥red, including four students and a school administrator

The suspect’s motive is being investigated and authorities are looking into “a number of social media posts” he made around the time of the shooting, Mortvedt added. Shortly, before Thursday’s sh%oting, Butler posted a photo on TikTok with the caption, ‘now we wait’ inside the bathroom of Perry High school.

A law enforcement official briefed on the investigation said federal and state investigators are interviewing Butler’s friends and analyzing Butler’s social media profiles, including posts on TikTok and Reddit. From Butler’s social media footprints, Butler was a LGBTQ+ activist with pronouns He/They.