PERRY, Iowa – Following the tragic events at Perry High School, it has been discovered that the gunman responsible for the attack, Dylan Butler, had an active account on the chat platform Discord. Screenshots viewed by NBC News show that Butler had discussed school shootings and appeared to be preparing for the attack before it occurred.
The attack resulted in the death of sixth grader Ahmir Jolliff, 11, and left four other students and three staff members injured, including principal Dan Marburger. The gunman, 17-year-old Dylan Butler, died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Law enforcement is currently reviewing Butler’s use of social media and tech platforms, including Discord, as they continue to investigate the incident.
In the minutes leading up to the shooting, Butler posted a video on TikTok under the username “tooktoomuch,” from what appeared to be a school bathroom. The Discord account believed to be Butler’s, with the username “took2much,” posted messages indicating the user was at the school and preparing for the attack.
A Discord spokesperson confirmed that the company believes the “took2much” screen name belonged to Butler. The spokesperson stated that Discord has taken action against accounts and content believed to have belonged to the suspect.
The user “took2much” was also part of a chatroom called “School Massacres Discussion,” dedicated to discussing school shootings. A Discord user who saw “took2much” in the chatroom reported it to the FBI in November, and after providing screenshots of the server, the user did not hear back from the FBI. The user did not, however, include mention of “took2much” in their report to the FBI.
Discord has been involved in similar incidents before. In 2022, the convicted shooter in the Buffalo, New York, Tops market attack used Discord before the shooting to discuss combat gear and make what appeared to be a to-do list for the shooting. In December, Discord reported the online activities of a 13-year-old who was stopped from committing an attack on a synagogue.
The entire Perry community is mourning the tragic loss and injuries caused by this devastating event. The investigation into the shooter’s online activities and the events leading up to the shooting continues as the community seeks healing and answers.