Who was Ahmir Joliff? Authorities identify 11-year-old boy killed in Perry High School shooting

Ahmir Joliff, an 11-year-old sixth grader, has been identified as the Perry student who was fatally shot in a mass shooting at the Iowa high school on Thursday, January 4, 2024.

According to the Iowa Department of Public Safety, Joliff, who went to Perry Middle School, died from three gunshot wounds sustained after 17-year-old Perry student Dylan Butler opened fire at the high school cafeteria Thursday morning.

The incident occurred when students from the nearby Perry Middle School gathered at the high school for a breakfast program 20 minutes before classes were supposed to begin.

Dylan Butler, armed with a pump-action shotgun and a small-caliber handgun, fatally shot Joliff and injured seven others, including Principal Dan Marburger, before dying from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

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Ahmir Joliff was named Perry Blue Jay Leader in April 2023

On Friday, January 5, 2024, Ahmir Joliff’s mother, Khaos Joliff, a make-up artist and hair stylist in Iowa, took to Facebook and mourned the loss of her son. In an emotional post, Ahmir Joliff's devastated mother wrote:

“HE MATTERED! My baby matters y’all better not forget his name, Ahmir Jolliff, we love u baby.”

Zoey Bautista, a sixth-grader and friend of Ahmir Joliff, spoke with KCCI's Laura Terrell on Friday and described him as a funny, resilient boy who was always there for everybody.

In April 2023, Ahmir Joliff was announced as one of the Perry Blue Jay Leaders for the month by teachers for displaying respectful, responsible and safe behaviors at school. The reward program includes having their picture taken and receiving a certificate and a bag of candy.

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Perry High School Principal Dan Marburger tried to save lives before he was shot

In a press release on Friday, the Perry Police Department said four of the wounded victims were students and three were school staff members, including Perry High School Principal Dan Marburger, who "acted selflessly and placed himself in harm's way in an apparent effort to protect his students.”

In a Facebook post, Claire Marburger, the daughter of Marburger, revealed that her dad tried to approach and talk to Dylan Butler to distract him long enough for some students to get out of the cafeteria.

Claire Marburger, the school's former varsity women's basketball coach, described her dad as a "gentle giant" who "brought a sense of calm and reassurance" to those around him. She said that Marburger was in stable condition.

“Knowing Dad, Dad is devastated about what happened today, he would be devastated about Dylan, devastated about the victims, devastated for the community as every single community member is a victim of this tragedy, its things like this that he takes personally," she added.

Dan Marburger, who has been a principal since 1995, has been with Perry schools for 25 years, according to his biography on the Perry staff directory.

While the motive for the incident is unclear, a friend of Dylan Butler had revealed that he was relentlessly bullied since elementary school.

In a statement to KCCI, Perry Superintendent Clark Wicks did not discuss if Butler was bullied but defended his school’s response to the allegation and said:

“We take every bullying situation seriously and our goal is to always have that safe and inviting atmosphere, but I’m not going to comment on this individual case as well as any other individual case.”

Meanwhile, authorities said they are exploring circumstances that led to the shooting.