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topicnews · October 18, 2024

Perry Principal Dan Marburger tried to stop the school shooting, a report said

Perry Principal Dan Marburger tried to stop the school shooting, a report said

Perry High School principal Dan Marburger was shot twice while confronting the gunman twice during the Jan. 4 shooting at the school, according to a report released Thursday by Dallas District Attorney Jeannine Ritchie.

Ritchie released a summary of findings from the Iowa Department of Criminal Investigation’s report on the shooting, detailing for the first time how the director helped stop Butler. The 17-year-old eventually killed 11-year-old Ahmir Jolliff, fatally wounded the 56-year-old from Marburg and wounded six others before killing himself.

In the days after the shooting, authorities called Marburger a hero who “acted selflessly and put himself in harm’s way to protect his students.”

According to the report, Butler waited in a restroom near the common area at Perry High School for 20 minutes before he got out and began shooting. Within 24 seconds, he shot Jolliff, a sixth-grader at Perry Middle School who was there for breakfast on the first day after winter break, and wounded Marburger and four other students, Ritchie wrote.

Even though he was injured, “principal Marburger, regardless of his own injuries, called Butler by name and begged him to stop shooting,” Ritchie wrote.

Marburger then withdrew from his location. Butler continued to move through the school, shooting at staff and into classrooms, Ritchie wrote. According to Ritchie, 15 students and staff were placed in “safe and secure locations” throughout the school.

One minute and 40 seconds after the shooting began, Marburger was near an exit but again confronted Butler and urged him to stop, Ritchie wrote.

More: Here is the official timeline of the deadly shooting at Perry High School

“Butler responded by shooting Principal Marburger,” Ritchie wrote. “This was the last shot that hit a victim. The seriously injured principal Marburger left the school on his own initiative.”

Butler shot himself about three minutes later.

Marburger died of his injuries ten days after the shooting. Ritchie made it clear in her report that Marburger’s actions were heroic.

Mandy Myers, president of the Perry Education Association, said the results confirmed that Marburger acted heroically.

“Mr. Marburger acted like a hero and most likely saved countless lives,” Myers said in a statement. “We commend our first responders for their quick and heroic actions. We would also like to give special recognition to the many educators who courageously did what they do every day in the face of danger: caring for the students in their care, protecting them on site, and keeping and even transporting students to safety .”

Marburger was a popular character in Perry. At his funeral, his daughter Claire called him a “hero” and spoke of his love for the Iowa Hawkeyes, Minnesota Vikings and Chicago White Sox.

His wife Elizabeth said at his funeral that he loved his family unconditionally.

“It’s the only kind of love Dan gave,” Elizabeth Marburger said in January. “Forty-three years ago, in eighth grade, I became the recipient of that love. It just doesn’t seem that long ago.”

The Iowa DCI interviewed more than 180 family members, friends and witnesses. Ritchie declined to press charges in the shooting after the shooter, 17-year-old Dylan Butler, died by suicide during the attack. Marburger died 10 days after the attack.

Philip Joens covers retail and real estate for the Des Moines Register. He can be reached at 515-284-8184, [email protected] or on Twitter @Philip_Joens.

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