2024-01-04 19:22:59
Police respond to Perry High School in Iowa, Thursday, January 4, 2024. ANDREW HARNIK / AP
A schoolboy died and five other people were injured following shootings Thursday, January 4 in a high school in Iowa, a state in the north of the United States, local police announced. Aged 17, the alleged perpetrator of the shooting died from a gunshot that he apparently inflicted on himself, according to a source cited by the Associated Press agency. He was found with two weapons, including a shotgun, said Mitch Mortvedt, a local official.
“There are six victims, one of whom died. This person was a middle school student”, he added. Four of the injured people are middle or high school students, the fifth is a member of the administration, he said.
According to information from CNNciting the local official, police located an explosive device inside Perry High School while conducting a search of the building following the shooting. “Numerous officers from multiple agencies were able to secure the school and verify that there were no other threats”he added Mr. Mortvedt.
« Phad high school students and teachers in the establishment »
“There is no longer any danger for the population”Sheriff Adam Infante told the press earlier, who confirmed that the shooter had been identified by the authorities, but Mr. Infante did not wish to say more about his identity.
The events took place in the small town of Perry, about sixty kilometers from Des Moines, the state capital. The presence of a shooter was reported around 7:37 a.m. local time (2:37 p.m. Paris time), the sheriff explained. The police arrived “after seven minutes” et “located several gunshot victims. We don’t know exactly how many [de personnes] are injured (…)but we are working on it »he said.
“Fortunately, there were very few high school students and teachers in the establishment”, due to the early hour, and classes had not yet started, he added. According to local media, it was the first day of recovery after the winter holidays.
These shootings occurred as the state of Iowa prepares to kick off the Republican Party primary season on January 15 when its voters vote in small neighborhood assemblies, the « caucus ».
White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre called on Congress to take action to combat gun violence. “We cannot allow these tragedies to continue”continued Ms. Jean-Pierre.
More guns than people
With more guns than people, the United States has the highest gun death rate of any developed country. Shootings are recurrent there, and successive governments have so far been powerless to limit gun ownership, because many Americans remain very attached to them.
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Schools and high schools are regularly the scene of shootings in the United States. In May 2022, a man killed 19 students and two teachers at Robb Elementary School in the town of Uvalde, Texas.
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In February 2018, a former high school student in Parkland, Florida, shot dead fourteen students and three adults in a matter of minutes, armed with a semi-automatic rifle. He was sentenced to life in prison.
US President Joe Biden called on July 4, the American national holiday, to end “the epidemic of gun violence”after one « vague » of killings and one year to the day after a shooting during a parade.
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